Something To Come Home To
by blacksyryn
Summary: After six years, Yawa Temeki is finally getting the chance to come back home to Konoha as Uchiha Sasuke. But what will she do when Akatsuki has plans for her sister's new family? Sequel to Finding Myself in You. AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END.
1. Shadowed Information

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto…(can't believe I'm doing this again)

**A/N**: I'm back! Although I didn't really leave in the first place…hehe. Now it's Temeki's turn to find love and peace within her heart.

This story starts 5 years after the events in my other story "Finding Myself in You" and will take us up to (and past) the 6-year exile sentence Tsunade placed on Sasuke.

You don't have to read that one to totally understand everything that's happening in this one. (I hope…) But it might help to understand how and why Sasuke was turned into Temeki and why he chose to stay that way.

Not to mention all of the Gaara/Kinabuhi goodness…

So enjoy!

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Chapter 1: Shadowed Information

The inside of the bar was exactly as one would expect of a dive: dirty and loud. Men laughed and yelled as they drank and shoved badly made food past their lips, which only caused them to drink _more_ to get the taste out of their mouths. More than one fight started and ended within the confines of the booths. No one paid them much attention, with the exception of the men who bet on the outcomes of those fights.

Smoke hung heavily in the air and caused the eyes of the waitresses to water. But they just shrugged it off and accepted it as part of the job, along with the ass grabs and indecent propositions. Some of the waitresses accepted the smarmy come-on lines, while most of them declined the less than gentlemanly advances. At least the manager of this particular bar was reasonable.

"Whether they used their voices or their fists," he told all of his customers, "no means no." That was the bar's one Rule.

The manager looked over the crowd from his position by the actual piece of wood that served as the bar. Thanks to a recent turn in the weather, the place was packed and filled with its fair share of short-tempered goons. Rain and lightning storms had a way of keeping even the stupidest badass inside. The man wasn't worried about the fighting; he was a strong man himself and could clear out the whole bar in less than thirty minutes if he had to.

The reason for the man's uneasiness had more to do with the new waitresses he'd hired the week before than anything else. He almost refused to give the pair of sisters the job, but relented only because he knew if he didn't, one of the many pimps or madams in the village would snatch them up and make the girls work for _them—_willingly or not.

The manager shook his head. He knew that the other "businessmen" in town thought that he was wasting a good opportunity to earn a few extra coins. But as the illegitimate son of a whore and the richest man in the village, he refused to accept any money that had been "earned" in such a manner.

The sisters he'd hired were nice girls.

This was _not_ a nice village.

But, as they'd told him, they had nowhere to go after Sound nin pillaged their family's ranch and killed their parents.

Sometimes he hated living in the Country of Field. The presence of the Hidden Village of Sound had only made things worse. There had been many attempts by other Hidden Villages to destroy Sound, but its Kage, Orochimaru, was a shrewd man who always seemed to be three steps ahead of the other Villages. Although he heard that the man was declining in health and had lost his chosen successor almost five years ago, the shinobi of Sound continued to run the country and terrorize its citizens.

Two flashes of spun golden hair brought the manager out of his thoughts. The girls he hired were actually 19-year-old twins. They were both on the short side, the one with dark blue eyes was shorter than her sister by a few centimeters, but the crowd immediately parted for the two beauties.

_They should be married to good men and have at least one child each by now,_ the manager thought. _Not stuck here serving swine._

The twins split up after a while, holding trays full of food and drinks and carrying them to their destinations. The taller one took the joking and pinching in stride as she passed by the tables. She "accidentally" spilled a drink in the lap of one of the more pushy men and stared him down. Luckily, the man was a regular at the bar and knew the manager's Rule. More importantly, he knew what happened to the men who violated the Rule.

The twin with the dark blue eyes was having a more difficult time. She jumped every time someone pinched her ass and looked on with eyes full of fear at the men who were so much larger than her. The other waitresses noticed and sought to protect the girl. They remembered well how it felt to be pawed for the first time and they liked the kind-hearted teenager. They intercepted the worst of the men and subtly shifted the girl over to the tables that were occupied by serious, quiet men who refused to drink anything but water.

The manager's eyes narrowed as he witnessed what his well-meaning staff was doing. They might think that they were doing the girl a favor, but those tables were among the most dangerous to serve. The men who sat there drank only water because they wanted their wits about them. Many plots and schemes were planned at tables like the ones that lined the east wall of his bar. The manager knew this, but also acknowledged that the girl might be the perfect waitress for that section of his establishment.

She was unobtrusive.

She was pretty.

And most importantly…

She was mute.

The manager nodded at a customer and wiped the bar with a dirty rag. _This just might work out,_ he thought.

00000000000000000

"If I don't like the information you have to give me, I'll cut your throat," a dirty man in rags whispered.

"You'll like it," the other occupant of the table chuckled. He looked over at his companion and smirked. He highly doubted the fool could go through with his threat. No matter how much dirt the idiot rolled around in, no one could miss the whiteness of his teeth and the softness of his hands.

_Save me from power hungry younger brothers,_ he thought. _But then again, they pay handsomely for one night of murder._

The two looked up when a shadow came over their table. A pretty girl with dark blue eyes, blonde hair, and a scar across her mouth stood there with a menu and a pad of paper. They looked on with interest as she pulled a card out of her apron and placed it on the table.

'_Would you like anything to eat or drink?'_ the card read.

"What's with the card?" the disguised noble demanded.

The girl only smiled and turned the card over.

'I apologize, but I am a mute. The manager begs your indulgence and would like to know if you'd like anything to eat or drink. My name is Meruka.'

The noble frowned while the assassin looked up at the girl. "How do we know, you're really mute, girl?" he asked.

Meruka opened her scarred mouth and showed the men the stub of her tongue.

The noble reared back in disgust while the assassin just nodded.

"Got it cut out, huh?" he asked.

Meruka nodded and swept her fingers over her forehead. She then pointed to the North and frowned.

The assassin nodded again. "Sound ninja cut out your tongue?"

Meruka gave him a small smile and shrugged as if to say, _That's how life is here._

The man felt a strange empathy for the girl and reached for the menu. "My friend and I will circle the orders we want, okay?" When the girl smiled again and nodded, the assassin felt glad for some reason. He shook the feeling off and looked at the menu.

"But what about my information?" the noble demanded.

"I can talk and read at the same time," the other man answered.

"But what about the girl?"

He looked up and winked at the girl, who promptly blushed. "She won't tell nobody."

If the noble had doubts, he dismissed them. He refused to remain in this _filth_ any longer than necessary. "Go on," he ordered.

The assassin turned cold gray eyes to the noble and said, "Your older brother is involved with an organization called Akatsuki. They are an organization that deals in various illegal activities."

"What kind of activities?" the noble asked. "I can't discredit him in the eyes of our Clan if all he does is deal in prostitutes and slavery. You've been in this village long enough. Father would probably give him a fuckin' medal."

"So your blue blood isn't as pristine as you make it out to be," the assassin murmured as he circled two items on the menu. He passed the menu to the noble, who refused it. "Your brother is involved in activities that include helping several missing nin and providing them with safe havens all across the Countries of Field, Fire, Wind, and Cloud."

Meruka picked up the menu and wrote down the orders on her pad. She smiled at the assassin and moved on to the next table, repeating the introduction with the card.

"I need proof," the noble said eagerly.

"I have a map of each of the safe havens your brother provides to Akatsuki in my room."

"Where are you staying?"

Harsh laughter cut through the noise in the bar. "I'm not as stupid as you think I am," he responded. "Meet me outside twenty minutes after I'm done eating and I'll take you to the map. _After _I blindfold you."

The noble looked the assassin in the eyes and nodded. "Deal."

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"Well?" an impatient voice asked. "Did it work?

"Fell for it hook, line, and sinker."

"Where do you get these lines?"

"You should be used to it by now."

"Shut up. Where's the meeting gonna be?"

"Outside in twenty—no, fifteen minutes."

"So, Drunk in a Funk? Or maybe Mug and Drug?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of Bladder in a Lather."

"We really need to come up with a better code for our attacks."

"And miss out on the rhyming fun?"

"Why don't we just attack him when he sleeps?"

"But I've been practicing at controlling my bladder…"

"Why do I work with you again?"

"Because I'm the best."

"Whatever. Let's go."

"Poor sod won't know wat 'it 'im." (1)

"Why are you talking like that?"

"Loike wat?"

"Nevermind. Just shut up and get ready."

"Sure, thang, guv'nor. Sure thang."

"Uhhhh…"

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The assassin leaned against the shadowed side of the building as he waited for the noble. The storm had passed, but rain still fell in light sheets. The roads were a muddy mess and he knew that it would take several days before they would be fit for horses or carriages to travel on.

He barely noticed when the door that led to the bar's kitchen opened behind him. The sounds of male panting and the breathless gasps of a female filled the small alley. The assassin didn't pay that any attention either. His eyes were glued to the opening of the alley.

The noble bastard was late.

The noises behind him grew louder as the couple continued their little 'session' despite both the muddy ground and the rain that was still falling. The man was now whispering to the waitress he'd gotten. His voice was low, but it was enough to reach the assassin's ears.

"I knew a bitch like you would be like this…"

The assassin slowly turned as a strange gurgle sounded.

"Meruka…" he whispered, the strange feeling of empathy hitting him once more.

Before he knew what he was doing, the assassin found his dagger in the back of the man who rutted on top of the mute girl. He pushed the now dead man off of the girl and held out his hand to her. Meruka looked up at her savior and recognized the nice man from before. She brought her tattered clothes to her chest and launched herself at the assassin.

He was surprised when the girl lunged for him and immediately fell to his knees. The girl's sobs sounded painful and she continued to make the strange gurgling noise from earlier.

"Shhh…" the assassin murmured, awkwardly patting her shoulder. "It's over now. Um…do you want me to get the manager?"

His question only made the girl cling to him harder as she violently shook her head from side to side.

"Okay, that's a no," he looked at the building that housed the bar and thought. "What about that other girl, the one with blonde hair? I noticed that she looked like you, sort of. She's your sister right?"

At Meruka's timid nod, he gave a small smile and carefully stood up.

"I'll get her."

Meruka's eyes widened and she started to shake her head again. She held on tight to his shirt with one hand and searched for something in her skirt with the other. The assassin stiffened warily, half-expecting a blade to be in her hands. It wouldn't be the first time someone had faked a rape to get his attention.

He relaxed when Meruka only pulled out her pad of paper and a pencil. She shakily wrote down some words on the page and turned it to the assassin. He squinted so that he could read it in the darkness.

'_No! Teruka would cause an even bigger scene!'_

The assassin shook his head. "I can't just leave you here. You need to…um…wash up."

Meruka's eyes teared at the reminder and wrote another sentence.

'_The room me and Teruka share is upstairs. I don't want to go in there!'_

"But you have to take care of yourself."

'_Can't you take me to where you're staying? Please?'_

The assassin was surprised by the girl's statement. She had just been raped by a stranger and now she was willing to go with another stranger into his hotel room. But as he thought about it from another angle he realized that in her mind, he was her hero and therefore wouldn't hurt her. The girl tapped the word 'please' with the pencil and looked up at him with dark blue eyes.

"Okay," he muttered. The assassin gently picked her up and, sticking to the shadows, took her to his room.

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Shadow's danced against the room's wooden walls as the wind howled outside. The couple asleep on the futon were oblivious to the noise as they dreamt. Meruka lay on her side, facing away from the assassin, while the assassin himself lay on his back.

A slight noise woke the man and he opened his eyes a bit to orient himself. Something was wrong.

He felt the warmth of Meruka next to him and immediately noticed the presence of another person in the room. His hand slid to the dagger he always kept on him and he waited for the figure to make his move.

_Damn,_ he wondered. _I didn't meet up with the noble bastard earlier. He didn't have me followed, did he?_

He felt two hands clasp his shoulders and suddenly he was up against the wall of the room. He tried to raise his dagger, but the figure grabbed his elbow and locked the joint. His attacker's other arm pinned his shoulder to the wall and the hand lightly rested on his collar bone. His legs were kicked apart and spread wide so that he had to concentrate to keep his balance.

He looked up and saw the white porcelain mask of a hunter nin. The symbol for the Hidden Village of Sand was carved onto the mask's forehead. The mask was a stark, unpainted white, except for a black kanji character on the lower left cheek.

"Where is it?" the hunter nin hissed in a low voice.

The assassin looked over at the still form of Meruka and answered, "Where's what?"

The masked ninja slammed the man into the wall and growled. "The girl doesn't matter. She's dead anyway. Where's the map?"

The assassin stilled as he felt a blade slide out of the hunter nin's sleeve and press against his throat.

"I could search the room after I kill you," the masked one whispered. "But I'm afraid that I'm in a bit of a hurry. Now, where is the map?"

"Really, Aitou," another voice whispered. "You're going to have to work on your interrogation skills."

The hunter nin, Aitou, stilled, but didn't turn. "Zannen," the ninja calmly said. "Can't you let a body have a bit of fun?"

"No," was the answer.

The assassin slid his gaze to the other person and grasped the fact that there were _two_ hunter nins in his room. He knew the map he had marked several safe havens for missing nins, but he didn't know how the hunters knew that he even _had_ the map in the first place.

"A girl just can't have any fun anymore," Aitou said.

The man noticed then that the two nins were female. A flush came over his body as he realized that he had been ambushed by two _females._

Zannen gave a short, seductive laugh and waved her hand. "Fine," she said. "I'll look while you play. But as you said, we're in a hurry."

Aitou tilted her head at the man and he had the feeling that a smile graced her lips behind the mask. He shivered as the blade ran up the side of his face.

"You've killed many people," she whispered, pressing against him. "And you've enjoyed it. You've reveled in it. Didn't you? Answer me!" She began carving lines into the man's forehead.

Zannen snorted and continued to search the room for the map, stearing clear of Meruka's body.

"Y-yes," the man stuttered. He felt wetness in his eyes and in his pants, but answered the woman.

"And tonight you killed again. But this time for a woman," she whispered as she pulled away from him in disgust. The man smelled of fear and urine. Although she didn't mind the fear—she enjoyed it, actually—the urine offended her.

"Found it," Zannen said.

The assassin jerked when he felt a kunai stab his side. He stared at Aitou's mask and knew that he was staring at the face of death.

Zannen looked at her partner and sighed when Aitou roughly jerked the kunai up, tearing at the man's internal organs, before removing it from his body. He fell to the ground and the moonlight lit his face and the character that Aitou had carved into his forhead.

'Yurushi.'

Forgiveness 

"Are you finished?" Zannen asked.

Aitou turned toward the girl and Zannen knew from experience that a joyful smile was now on the hunter nin's face.

"Quite!"

"Then let's go," Zannen said. "Kazekage-sama is waiting for this information."

Aitou turned toward the door and paused when Zannen poked her toe at the girl on the floor.

"What about Meruka?" she asked.

Aitou blinked her eyes and the girl disappeared.

"Who?"

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A/N:**

Okay…set up done! Ha! Feels good to write again!

By the way…apples and bananas to the ones who know who Aitou is! Don't put your answer in the reviews! Just be smug in your all knowingness!

**(1) **How ya like my first attempt at a British accent in written form? Good, huh? Huh? Hello…?


	2. Life In Suna

**Disclaimer:**The Naruto world and its characters are not mine.

Also, a little heads up, this story will contain male/male, female/male, and female/female moments of sexual tension and innuendo. Nothing too extreme, but with a main character that can switch from male to female and back again, a little confusion is only natural. Hence, the M rating.

Don't worry; this _is_ a Sasu/Saku fanfic!

Now, on with the story.

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Chapter 2: Life in Suna

Temeki pushed her hair out of her eyes as she warily stared at her opponents. She was outnumbered 15 to 1 and her orders were strict. She was forbidden to harm them. But they _did _have the ability to harm _her_. They stood in front of her in a line, kunai drawn, as she stood in a battle stance with her back to a wooden wall.

Ryouken, the self-appointed leader of the group, held up his kunai and yelled, "GO!"

Temeki tensed and moved quickly to dodge the many kunai thrown at her. She ducked and weaved as she tried to evade the projectiles, but with so many, she felt some of them hit her armor. She pivoted on one foot, intending to drop and roll, but one of the kunai hit her shin dead on.

She fell to the ground and looked up at the sky.

_That's it,_ she thought. _I'm done for._

She felt the ground shake as her attackers ran to her position.

"Temeki-sensei!" they screamed. "Are you okay?"

Temeki sat up and smiled at her students. "Oi, I'm okay," she reassured the fifteen ten year olds she had been assigned to teach today. She stood up and carefully removed the armor from her body.

"Why don't you all collect the practice kunai and place them in their appropriate containers, hmm?" she asked. "While you're doing that, I'll write your grades down."

She ignored the groans from most of the class and heard Korena shout at Ryouken, "Just shut up and pick up your kunai, _baka!_"

Temeki smiled as she placed the armor on a table and brought out her grade book. _Korena is sounding more and more like Sakura every day,_ she thought. She shook her head and stared unseeingly at the lines of names and letters in front of her. She had been thinking of the pink haired kunoichi more and more often lately. She dreamt of her, too.

But right now, she had to work.

The light blue eyes of Temeki looked over the armor and counted the number of dark green paint stains on it. She looked at a sheet of paper next to the armor and smiled.

_Shinkirou Touken: 4 hits—B _

Temeki wrote down the information in her grade book and continued on to the next color and the next student.

The practice kunais that Kina had designed were a complete success.

Her idea had been to create hollow metal kunais that had the same weight and size of real ones. But were filled with a water soluble paint that smeared onto whatever came into contact with the kunai's dulled edges. The problem had been the fact that the paint, which was a liquid, kept spinning in the kunais and causing them to wobble when they were thrown.

Sabaku no Kinabuhi, Temeki's sister, had thought about it for a long while before she came up with a solution. Instead of the kunai being totally hollow, she decided to put a small depression in the center of each kunai. A dry paint packet could be placed inside the depression by pushing one into the kunai's removable handle and after twisting the handle back on, the packet would burst. The special dust immediately turns into liquid when it touches metal and the paint would be able to flow out of the kunai's edges.

All of the taijutsu teachers were glad for the new teaching tool. It made it easier for them to keep track of the skill and accuracy levels of each student and also cut down the time it took to test and grade the young wanna-be ninjas.

Everyone praised Kina for the invention. The teachers especially were fond of saying, "The Kazekage's wife is truly amazing."

Temeki was happy for her sister. They both taught at Suna's Ninja Academy and had been teaching there for almost 6 years. Kina had been Head of the Taijutsu Department for one whole school year before Temeki arrived and took over the position for her. Now, Kina was the Genjutsu teacher and also taught the special class that only future kunoichis took. Temeki, besides running the Taijutsu Department, also taught Advanced Ninjutsu, but only after the old teacher had been killed on a mission.

When she had first arrived in Suna, Temeki had been dismayed by the assignment the Kazekage had given her.

In the first place, Temeki had argued, she didn't even like kids. Secondly, if she _was _going to teach a class, it should be a ninjutsu one, since that was where her strength lay. And thirdly, she had come to Suna to train and become stronger, not _teach_.

Gaara had remained silent during her argument and when she was finished, answered and shot down each and every one of her complaints.

"Firstly," he'd said. "You don't have to like kids to teach them how to fight. In fact, it's better. That way you won't go easy on them."

Temeki couldn't argue with that point.

"Secondly, teaching ninjutsu would be too easy for you. The taijutsu class will be a challenge."

"It will also hone your reflexes," her foster sister, Kina, added, smiling maliciously. (1)

"Thirdly," the Kazekage had stated. "Since you _are_ in Suna to train, you will think of me as your sensei. This is the training schedule I've thought up for you and if you want to become a shinobi of Suna, then you will follow it!"

Temeki'd given in to Gaara's demands and become a teacher. For the first few months, she'd resented the boy for his threat. He knew that Temeki was no longer considered a Konoha ninja and that she didn't want to take up the mantle of missing nin ever again.

The only option left to her was to become a Sand nin like her sister.

It was a fact that Gaara knew and exploited at every opportunity.

But by the time the winter break had come around, Temeki found that she enjoyed teaching. Something about the smiles the children gave when they completed a maneuver correctly warmed something in Temeki's heart that had been long frozen. She also realized that her sister was right and her reflexes had sharpened with the assignment.

Having to constantly dodge sharp objects thrown by inexperienced hands tended to do that.

"Temeki-sensei!" Korena yelled into her teacher's ear.

Temeki wanted to jump in surprise, but forced herself to remain still. She slowly turned to her student and lifted an eyebrow. "And why are you yelling at me, Korena-san?" she asked in a cold voice.

Korena stepped back and gulped. She heard Ryouken-_baka_ laugh behind her and saw Touken smirk out of the corner of her eye. _Stupid, Ryouken,_ she thought. _Now Touken-kun thinks I'm a wimp!_

"It's been 15 minutes, Temeki-sensei," she said. "Can we be dismissed now?"

Temeki was surprised by the time. _Shit, I promised to help Kina with paperwork today!_ While her sister was a great teacher, polite hostess, and loving wife and mother, Kina was not the most patient of people when it came to punctuality. _She's gonna kill me._

"Class dismissed!" she yelled. "Korena, you and Touken take the kunais back to the storage closet." The girl beamed while the Shinkirou boy simply shrugged his shoulders. "Ryouken, help them and then report to room 2c for your detention. If you don't, I'll know and then you will have detention with _me _for the next two days."

Temeki left the field as Ryouken loudly complained about the detention and Korena tried to get Touken's attention for the fortieth time that day. She smiled and remembered a similar trio of students.

_They act so much like Naruto, Sakura, and myself once did,_ she thought. A frown ghosted over her face and she shook her head. _I just hope things don't work out the same way for them. _

As Temeki headed for the Kazekage's Mansion where her sister and her family lived, thoughts of the person she once was and the name she had sold her soul to avenge filled her mind.

Uchiha Sasuke.

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"You're late," Kina growled, tapping her foot. She stood in the entryway of the Kazekage's Mansion and stared at the taijutsu teacher.

Temeki's sister was a beautiful 19-year-old with strange dark purple eyes, pale skin, ridiculously long black hair, a wicked sense of humor, and a fondness for pandas, flamingos, and hand fans.

She was also a Suna jounin, a genjutsu master, _Escrima _fighter, and dedicated healer. (2)

Not to mention the fact that she was the wife of the Kazekage, Gaara, and the mother of their three-year-old daughter, Lilith.

Oh, and she was the human vessel for the eagle demoness, Tsubakiri.

All things considering, Sabaku no Kinabuhi was a very unique woman. (3)

"Well?"

Temeki cringed inwardly at the sharp sound of her sister's voice. "Got held up at the Academy," she explained. "You know how it is."

Kina dropped her hands to her sides and nodded. "Yes," she said. "I _do_ know. C'mon. Knowing you, you haven't eaten yet. There's tea and sandwiches in the drawing room."

Temeki followed her sister and sat down in one of the Mansion's many drawing rooms. Her hair fell into her eyes again and she quickly braided the long mane of dark hair. Kina noticed the movement and smiled.

"You could cut it short again," she joked.

"Don't ever mention that incident again," Temeki growled. Five years ago, when she had first arrived in Suna, Temeki cut her waist length hair. The village's constant winds kept on blowing the stupid strands and she had had enough.

So, she cut the black locks into the style that she had kept it in before the jutsu Tsunade placed on her transformed her from Uchiha Sasuke: the boy and into Yawa Temeki: the girl.

The only thing she hadn't counted on was the fact that because of the dryness of Suna's atmosphere and the shortness of her hair, Temeki's head ended up looking like a dysfunctional hedgehog.

Kina had nicknamed her "Brillo-head" and the name stuck, along with the other embarrassing nicknames she already had. Needless to say, she grew her hair long after that.

"So how're the little monsters in your taijutsu class doing?" Kina asked, grabbing a sandwich.

"Fine," Temeki answered. "Everyone's singing your praises thanks to your kunai. It's getting kind of old."

Kina turned to her foster sister and smiled. "Don't worry," she said. "You'll probably teach the kids some new ninjutsu or hit twenty targets blindfolded and they'll start singing about you again."

"Those are the kids," Temeki waved away. "It's the other teachers I was talking about."

Kina's smile dimmed and she looked at the former Uchiha with a serious look on her face. "You're not forming an inferiority complex now are you, Temeki?" she asked. "Cause if you are, I might have to hurt you."

Light blue eyes met dark purple and held for a few long moments.

"Don't worry, Kina," Temeki finally said. "I'm not chasing anyone anymore. At least, not without the Kazekage's permission."

Whatever Kina was about to say was cut short by a small redheaded whirlwind that ran into the room.

"Mama!" the whirlwind screamed and jumped into the air right above the tea table.

Seven years of dealing with children, three of which she spent raising a child of her own, gave Kina the sharp reflexes to catch her daughter before her nose touched the pile of sandwiches. She held Lilith there for a few moments and then sat her down on her knee.

"Lilith," she calmly said. "Unless there is an emergency, there are only three rooms in this Mansion you can run in. They are…"

"My room, yours and Daddy's room, and the dojo," the three-year-old recited. The girl raised dark purple eyes to her mother and smiled. "But Daddy and I just got back from visiting Naruto-kun and Sakura-neechan! I have to tell you what she said to Hyuuga Tenten-san!"

Kina laughed at her daughter's enthusiasm and smiled. "And you just couldn't wait until later, imp?" she asked. "You know that school just started and I always have 'and junk' to do when that happens."

The girl nodded at her mother's nickname for the piles of paper that she had to take care of and sign. "But I _have_ to tell you!" she said. "You're not doing 'and junk' stuff now…"

"Maybe it should wait until dinner…" Kina drawled.

"You should listen to your mother, Lilith-chan," a low voice said from the doorway.

"Gaara-kun!" Kina quickly placed her daughter in Temeki's lap and raced to her husband's side. "It's been too long…"

The redhead nodded and looked at his wife of 5 years. "Too long, indeed," he said before capturing her lips in a deep kiss.

"Eeewwww…" Lilith said, covering her eyes. "They keep _doing_ that! _Why _do they have to keep _doing_ that?"

Temeki covered her eyes as well. "Why, indeed, Lilith-chan," she said. She turned away from the couple, ignoring the small pang of envy in her heart as she did so, and smiled at the child. "Why don't you tell _me_ the thing Sakura said to Tenten? Your Mama's busy right now anyway."

The little girl with her father's coloring and her mother's eyes and smile looked at her aunt and grinned. "Well…" she said, cupping her hand around Temeki's ear. "It's…"

Kina and Gaara were sharing their third kiss when Temeki's voice jarred them out of their trance.

"Sakura's gonna _what _to Shino?" she yelled.

The Kazekage and his wife turned to the woman and little girl and listened carefully.

"Sakura-neechan told Tenten-san that she was tired of waiting and so she was going to give it to Aburame Shino-san," the child dutifully repeated.

"Give it?" Kina gasped, holding a hand to her mouth.

"Sakura-neechan said that she was damned if she was going to die a virgin and so was going to give it to Shino-san. What's a virgin?" Lilith asked, her purple eyes wide with curiosity.

Gaara choked as he heard his little girl ask what a virgin was. In his head, Shukaku was roaring and crying with his usual funky flare.

_She's only THREE years old, for God's sake, _the feared raccoon-dog demon sobbed. _Our baby is too young to know that!_

Kina got a similar response from her demon.

_I'm going to _kill _that cotton-candied freak! _Tsubakiri cried, talons shredding an imaginary picture of Sakura. _That's the last time we let Gaara and Shukaku take Lilith _anywhere _without us with them! Those _tontos _probably just left Lilith with Sakura and thought that everything would be okay! _(3)

"Then what happened, imp?" Kina asked calmly from the doorway.

Lilith looked at her mother and smiled, glad that she had stopped kissing Daddy long enough to listen to her. "Tenten-san asked why now and Sakura-neechan said that she was getting tired of her fingers."

Lilith wasn't sure why what she said got the reaction it did. She just knew that it was funny.

Temeki started choking while both she and Kina turned bright red. Gaara just stood there with a blank look on his face as he dropped his arms from around Kina's waist. Unfortunately, his arms supported most of Kina's weight. So when he removed them, she fell onto her butt on the hardwood floor. None of the adults moved though. It was as if they were frozen.

Lilith, ever the smart one, took the opportunity to take out the small camera her godfather Uzumaki Naruto had given her for her birthday present and snapped several photographs of each of the adults. She was _definitely _going to keep them—if only to laugh at them later.

Temari and Shikamaru entered the room from another door and halted at the sight before them.

Temeki sat on one of the couches, her face so red that Temari feared that the woman's limbs had gone numb from lack of circulation. Shikamaru noted that Kina was in a similar state on the floor by Gaara's feet. Lilith sat on the tea table in front of the platter of sandwiches and was happily devouring the entire pile.

And Gaara…

"Gaara?" Temari asked, stepping up to her brother. Where the two women's faces were bright red, Gaara's was pale white. His eyes stared sightlessly into the distance and his lips were moving as if he was saying something, but no sound came from his mouth.

Temari turned to her boyfriend and asked, "Can you read lips?"

The shadow user looked at Gaara and smirked. "'Stupid pink kunoichi,'" he repeated what Gaara mouthed. "'Can't she keep her mouth shut? Why does she have to corrupt my little girl, my sweet innocent, precious little girl? Why did I leave them there to watch her while she napped? What prompted her to talk about her se—'"

Temari punched Shikamaru on the shoulder when he stopped in the middle a word. "What?" she asked. "What did Sakura talk about?"

Shikamaru glanced at the happily eating Lilith and remained silent.

"Shika!"

"Sakura-neechan's sick of being a virgin and is tired of her fingers!" Lilith said through her fourth sandwich. "She's going to give it to Shino-san!"

The girl watched as her aunt and her honorary uncle froze and became as still and silly as the others. She smiled through the mayonnaise on her lips and brought the camera to her eye once more.

_I'm gonna tell everyone my news!_ Lilith decided as she continued to press the shutter button. _These pictures are gonna be great!_

**

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A/N:**

I am aware that a three-year-old would not have the thought processes or motor skills to do what Lilith does, but she's the daughter of two demons! C'mon…literary license here people!

**(1)** In my last fanfic, Kina claimed Temeki was her sister in front of Tsunade, Ibiki, and Kakashi.

**(2) **_Escrima_ is a form of martial arts from the Philippines.

**(3) **This name worked out better than I had planned…_Kinabuhi_ means 'life' in Cebuano, so the name means 'Life of the Desert' and since Gaara's found peace and Suna is flourishing, it's very appropriate.

**(4) **_Tonto _means 'fool' or 'idiot' in Cebuano…and in Spanish as I have been informed…Tsubakiri has been 'active' for five years, some of Kina's mannerisms seem to have rubbed off on her.


	3. Sorrow and Bad Luck

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto

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Chapter 3: Sorrow and Bad Luck

Kankuro was having a good day.

First he finished his morning mission early. Then he'd bumped into his current lover while at the market. Since he knew that he didn't have to meet Gaara and the others at the Mansion until after 4 o'clock, Kankuro didn't feel too guilty about not returning as quickly as he would have. Now he was much more relaxed and content with life than he usually was.

The purple make-up wearing puppeteer walked into the drawing room and stopped.

"Hey! Gaara, glad to see you back from Konoha," he said, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder. Kankuro's eyes widened when Gaara didn't respond. He walked around the redhead and looked into his eyes. They were blank and hollow and he looked as if he was in a trance.

Something was wrong.

Temari, Shikamaru, and Kina were on the floor, while Temeki was on the couch and each of them had the same expression on their faces as Gaara.

Something was _very _wrong.

Suspecting an attack, Kankuro summoned his puppet from his back and stood in a battle stance. He looked around the room and noticed that Lilith wasn't there.

Fear spread through his body as he wondered what happened to his family.

"Lilith?" he yelled out. "Where are you?"

He almost used his puppet to attack when a voice called out from behind him.

"Uncle Kanky!" Lilith screamed. "You're home!"

The man caught his niece and held her close to his body. "What happened, Lilith-chan?" he asked, still prepared for an attack. "Who did this to everyone?"

The 3-year-old beamed and exclaimed, "Me!"

Kankuro's eyes widened as he stared at Lilith. "What do you mean?"

Lilith wriggled out of her uncle's hold and brought her camera to her eyes. She wanted a shot of the moment she told him her news.

"I told them that Sakura-neechan said that she didn't want to be a virgin anymore and that she was tired of her fingers and she was going to give it to Shino-san," she said quickly.

She waited for the shock to come over his face like it had over the other adults and was disappointed when he just blinked and laughed.

"Why aren't you being funny?" she demanded. "Mama and Daddy and Auntie Temari and Temeki-chan and Shika-kun are all funny. Why aren't you being funny?"

Kankuro laughed again and walked over to her father. "I'm not really like them, imp," he said. "C'mon, Gaara, wake up."

He snapped his fingers in front of Gaara's face and, when that didn't work, he smiled and punched the Kazekage hard in the face.

"What the fuckin' hell?" Gaara yelled, holding his hand to his suddenly throbbing cheekbone. "Kankuro, what are you _doing?_"

"Daddy said a swear!" Lilith said, gasping.

Gaara tuned toward his daughter and frowned. The memory of the past ten minutes flashed through his mind and he vowed to get back at Sakura no matter what.

"I'm sorry, Lilith-chan," he apologized. "Uncle Kanky just surprised Daddy and he wasn't thinking."

"Will Mama swear when you wake her up?"

"Wake her…?" Gaara looked over at his wife and immediately bent down to hold her in his arms. "Kina…Kina-chan, wake up…sweetheart, please…Kinabuhi, I have chocolate covered almonds."

Kina's eyes opened and she sat up. "Where...?"

"Mama!" Lilith said. "You're awake!"

Kina looked around and saw that Kankuro had shaken or hit the others out of their shock.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Frown o'clock," Lilith answered. (1)

_5:40? _Kina thought.

"Omigosh!" she said. "Gaara-kun, you're going to be late for your meeting! Temeki, we have to get that paperwork done before tomorrow and we have at least five _huge _piles of 'and junk' to go through."

Temeki nodded and grabbed Kina. Together, the sisters left the room.

Shikamaru, Kankuro, and Gaara turned to leave as well.

"Temari," Gaara said. "Please explain to Lilith why it's important to not tell everyone her news."

Lilith stopped smiling and froze.

It was never good when Daddy called her 'Lilith."

The blonde looked at Gaara and asked, "Why me?"

"Because Kina-chan and Temeki are busy and we have an important meeting."

_And I don't want to even _think_ of explaining to my 3-year-old daughter_ _what a virgin is,_ Gaara admitted to himself.

"Gaara—"

"Meeting," he repeated quickly and the men left.

"Coward," she muttered.

Temari looked at the little girl in front of her and tried to think of the best way to keep her from telling all of Suna Sakura's secret plans for Shino.

000000000000000000

Gaara sat in his office and tried to forget about the situation with his daughter and get into his 'Kazekage Mode.' He needed to have all of his attention on this meeting. He couldn't afford to be distracted today.

Shikamaru stood to the left and behind Gaara's chair while Kankuro stood on the right. The brunette looked at the two Suna shinobi and wondered why he was included in this meeting.

When Tsunade exiled the transformed Sasuke, who was now in the female body of Temeki, from Konoha for 6 years, she had given Shikamaru his 6 year mission. That mission was to live in Suna for six months of the year and monitor the health and mental well-being of the former Uchiha. At least, that was the first part of his mission.

The second part—the part that was only known to Shikamaru, Gaara, Kina, and Tsunade herself—was to eliminate the Uchiha if he so much as _thought _of returning to his old ways.

Luckily, the leaf nin hadn't had to fulfill that part of his mission. Over the years, Shikamaru got to know Sasuke, or rather, Temeki, and the two had become close friends. From all of the training they did together with the Sabaku siblings and with the birth of Lilith, they both slowly became part of the strange and loving Sabaku family. Now, the six year exile was almost finished and the two Konoha natives could finally return home for good.

"Why am I here, Kazekage-sama?" Shikamaru asked, fully aware that Gaara had gone into his 'business' persona.

"Suna's best hunter nins are coming to report on their latest mission," Gaara answered.

"Again, why am I here?"

Gaara leaned his elbows on his desk and folded his hands under his chin. "You are here as a representative of Konoha, Nara Shikamaru. I understand that you will be returning to Konoha at the end of the month. You will repeat what my hunters have to report directly to Tsunade-sama along with your usual psychiatric analysis of Yawa Temeki."

Shikamaru nodded and folded his hands behind his back. He settled in to wait for the hunters when a large gust of wind blew through the room. He shielded his eyes against the blast and when he removed his arm from his face, two masked women stood in front of the Kazekage's desk.

They were both short for hunter ninja. But if the ease with which they carried the weapons on their hips and the katanas on their backs was any indication, they were experienced hunter nins.

They both wore the traditional white porcelain masks that all ANBU and hunter nins wore. The Suna symbol was carved into the foreheads of both masks and Shikamaru was surprised to note that they both had the same kanji character painted onto the white porcelain.

'_Regret.'_

But he also noticed that the one in dark purple had the kanji on the lower left quadrant of the mask, while the one in dark blue had the kanji occupying the upper right portion of the mask.

Both women wore black pants tucked into knee high boots along with the ever popular backless kimono-style top that Kina had designed and worn years ago. The top looked like a normal kimono top—in the front, that is. When looked at from behind, the sleeves of the top only covered the shoulder blades and then made way for nothing but the exposed flesh of the wearer's back. Two pieces of cloth from the front of the top tied at the small of the back and helped to keep the garment on.

But these tops were slightly different from the others Shikamaru had seen around Suna.

The most obvious difference was the fact that these tops had hoods attached to them. The hoods covered the hunter nins' hair and were attached to a thick strip of cloth that lead from one sleeve to the other across the back of the women's necks.

The second was that the sleeves were split to just below the bicep. He could see that the one clad in blue had metal armbands that had numerous shuriken on them while the one in purple had metal gauntlets that reached up to her elbow.

Shikamaru was pulled out of his reverie when Gaara spoke.

"Nara Shikamaru, I'd like to introduce you to Aitou,"—the woman in purple lifted her hand to her heart—"and Zannen."—the one in dark blue did the same. "They are Suna's best hunter nin."

"They are our _only _hunter nin," Kankuro said.

Shikamaru was shocked. "Your _only _hunters?" he asked. "Why only two?"

"After Suna foolishly joined the Sound to destroy Konoha, many of our jounin were killed," Gaara answered. "Too many. We had to recall all of our ANBU and hunter nins and have them perform jounin and chuunin level missions."

"It wasn't until three years ago that we started to rebuild our ANBU forces," Kankuro added. "And only one year after that that we even _considered_ creating hunters."

The leaf nin absorbed the news silently. _If they'd had to resort to demoting _ANBU_ members_, he realized, _then they must've been worse off than Konoha. _He also realized that the Kazekage was entrusting a huge secret to the shadow user.

_He trusts me._

Shikamaru knew that only a few completely earned Gaara's trust and was glad to be a part of those few.

Gaara looked over at the hunter wearing blue. "Well, Aitou?"

The woman coughed and stepped forward. "I'm Zannen, Kazekage-sama."

Shikamaru then learned something else. The fact that they dressed so similarly and each had the kanji character for _'regret' _on their masks made it easy for a person to confuse the two. Even their names aided in the confusion.

_Two hunter nins, _Shikamaru summarized to himself. _Both women and wearing similar colors. They both have the kanji for _'regret' _on their masks. They both have names that mean _'regret' _as code names. _

_It would be easy for an enemy to believe that he was dealing with only one person, _he concluded. _But if they work together as a team, they have the element of surprise on their side._

Zannen tilted her head in a manner that forgave the Kazekage's lapse and simply said, "Guess it's my own bad luck."

"And it's my sorrow that one is so often confused with the other," Aitou murmured.

Kankuro smirked and shook his head. "I regret that that's enough wordplay for today," he said. "Your report?"

_Oh, _Shikamaru grasped. _They're telling me why they chose those pronunciations of the _'regret' _character. Zannen can also mean _'bad luck' _while Aitou usually means _'sorrow.'

The two hunters seemed to smirk at the twinkle in the Konoha shinobi's eyes. They knew he had gotten their message. After all, he was almost as cunning as they were.

"Alright," Gaara said. "Zannen? What have you to tell me?"

Zannen's manner immediately became serious. "Our informant was correct in leading us to what we wanted," she began. "Once we found out the location of the map, we obtained it from its previous owner."

Gaara's _'love' _tattoo scrunched up as he raised a non-existent eyebrow. "Map?" he asked.

"Our informant told us that information concerning the movements of Akatsuki could be found in the Country of Field," Aitou answered. "And as Zannen said, the informant was correct. We were led to an assassin who had the map of Akatsuki safe havens in his possession."

"Why did he have the map?" Kankuro asked.

"He was hired by a nobleman to find any information he could to discredit his older brother," was the answer.

"Power hungry bastard," Zannen muttered.

"The assassin found out that the older brother was providing safe havens to missing nins all across the Countries of Fire, Wind, Field, and Cloud," Aitou continued. "But mostly to Akatsuki members."

Gaara nodded and held out his hand. Zannen stepped forward and handed him the map. Shikamaru wasn't certain, but the scroll seemed to freeze in the grip between the two and he thought he saw Gaara's eyes narrow at the hunter nin. But the moment was over too quickly and Zannen stepped back to stand beside her counterpart.

The Kazekage opened the scroll and nodded. He then looked at the two standing before him and said, "Dismissed."

Another large gust of wind signaled the departure of the two elite ninja.

"Well?" Kankuro asked.

"Shikamaru," Gaara started. "Tell Hokage-sama about this. We need to formulate a plan to wipe out Akatsuki, but it's going to take time and planning. Both the Hidden Villages of Konoha _and _Suna will look to you for help in this."

"Why are you doing something about Akatsuki _now?"_ Shikamaru asked. "They haven't been doing much of anything from what I can tell."

"Until I have Tsunade's permission, I'm afraid that I can't tell you anything else," Gaara apologized. "But rest assured that you _will _know all of it soon. You're dismissed."

If Shikamaru was surprised by the abrupt dismissal, he didn't show it. Instead, he just bowed to the Kazekage and left the office. Besides, he had other plans for the rest of the day.

"Shika-kun!" Temari called from the top of the stairs.

Shikamaru turned unseeing eyes onto his girlfriend of 5 years. She seemed to look more beautiful each day—more annoying too, come to think of it. But she had grown on the heir of the Nara Clan.

"Shika-kun, what's wrong?" she asked. After 5 years of going out, Temari knew when something was bothering the lazy ass.

"Nothing," he muttered, walking down the stairs.

"It's not 'nothing,'" she said, following him. "What is it?"

"It's the Valentine's Day Dinner this Friday," he lied. "It's troublesome, but I have to find something to wear. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay," she answered, staring at his back as he left the Mansion. Temari knew when Shikamaru lied to her. She'd always known.

Just like she knew that he was lying to her now.

After all, she bought his Valentine's Dinner outfit two weeks ago. Just like she had done every year for the past 5 years.

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Gaara and Kankuro were silent after Shikamaru left the room. They both stared at the door until they felt a familiar presence behind them.

The three old friends stood silent for a few moments more until Gaara broke it.

"Will he be able to handle this?"

Aitou stepped away from the wall and sat on the edge of Gaara's desk, facing the two brothers. Her mask was pushed to the top of her head and her hood was down, revealing a long mane of black hair held in a high ponytail.

"Perhaps," she answered. "After the seeds you will plant have taken root and begin to bear fruit, perhaps _then_ he will be ready."

"That's not an answer," Gaara frowned.

"It's the only answer I have to give you."

"Is this plan wise?" Kankuro asked his two best friends.

"No," Gaara admitted. "But time is running out."

"Kazekage-sama is right," Aitou added. "Even now, the seal Itachi placed on your sister-in-law throbs with a power not her own. The time is fast approaching when Akatsuki will come for her. As well as the kyuubi vessel. And you, Kazekage-sama."

"I know. That's why I _need _him to be ready."

Aitou nodded. "Hai."

"We _need _to know what Akatsuki is planning for the demon vessels," Kankuro muttered, slamming his fist into his palm.

"I wish I could help you," Aitou said. "But I have already told you all I knew of the situation concerning Akatsuki."

"I'm not blaming you of anything, Aitou-san," Kankuro said. "Your information has been a huge help as it is."

"You're arrival in Suna was the biggest help of all, though," Gaara said.

Kankuro grinned while Aitou simply tilted her head in acknowledgement.

"Kankuro…" Gaara hesitated long enough for his brother to know that the next sentence was an extremely important one. "If this plan fails…Lilith is to live in Konoha with Naruto as her guardian."

Kankuro was shocked. "Why not have her stay here with us if something goes wrong?"

"Because if Kinabuhi and I are lost, then Lilith will need someone to train and teach her to control that temper of hers," Gaara answered sadly. "Who better than another demon vessel?"

Kankuro stared at his brother and then at the silent hunter nin still perched on Gaara's desk like a bird. "You're sure?" he asked. When Gaara nodded, he asked again. "What does Kina-chan think of this?"

Aitou stared at Kankuro with dark purple eyes filled with tears, but none found their way into her voice.

"Your sister-in-law agrees with her husband, Kankuro-san," she answered. "The best thing for the child if things go wrong is to be raised by one such as her parents. Kyuubi already loves her as his god child. He would make a good father should anything—"

_Nothing will happen to them, _Kankuro vowed. _Nothing!_

"Nothing will happen!" Kankuro repeated aloud. He refused to allow his brother's family to be torn apart. He looked from Gaara to Aitou and back again.

_These to people are my best friends, _he thought. _Together they made Suna great and together they made Lilith, my niece. _

"The plan will not fail," Kankuro said, firmly. "He is stronger now; his will is stronger now. He'll be ready."

Gaara took Aitou's hand and held it in his, rubbing his fingers over the rings she had placed on her third finger after the meeting—the rings he had given her long ago. He looked at his wife and smiled sadly.

"I hope so," he said, speaking directly as the Kazekage and husband to his hunter nin and wife, Kina. "For the sake of everyone's happiness, I hope Sasuke's ready for this."

**

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A/N:**

Okay…was it obvious who Aitou and Zannen are? Well, hopefully it's not too obvious to Akatsuki or Gaara's plan isn't going to work.

And _is _Sasuke ready? Ready for what? I dunno…do you?

Later!

**(1) **"Frown" is what my younger cousin calls _5:40 _on our analog clocks. Ever notice how it looks like a frown while _10:10 _looks like a smile?


	4. Love and Lonliness

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

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Chapter 4: Love and Lonliness

Temeki sat in the music room of the Kazekage's Mansion and softly played the piano. It was Friday and the school week was finally over. Usually she came here to listen to her sister play. But occasionally, she would sit on the piano bench and play something herself. While Kina had the talent to play everything from energetic marches to tear inducing funeral songs, Temeki's talent seemed to be stuck in the minor chords.

She continued to let her fingers drift over the keys, allowing some of her feelings to pour through the music. Temeki didn't notice when Kankuro came into the room.

"That's awfully depressing considering that it's Valentine's Day," he frowned.

Temeki turned her head, but kept on playing.

Kankuro sighed and sat down on the piano bench next to Temeki, but only facing the other way so that he could look her in her face. "Don't tell me you forgot."

"I didn't forget," she answered, staring straight at the puppet master. She suddenly noticed that Kankuro was missing his usual face of make-up and that his eyes were extremely intense and somewhat red-rimmed. "What happened?"

"Yoshi broke up with me."

The steady sound of the music faltered for a moment before resuming.

"I thought you were with Sanka," she said.

"I couldn't be with both?"

Temeki smiled and shook her head. "I swear, you have such a variety of lovers—from both sexes, I might add—that I'm surprised you can keep them straight."

"Not all of them are straight, Temeki-chan."

"So why did Yoshi break up with you?"

Kankuro leaned in close to the former Uchiha and smirked when the music faltered again.

"Because I refused to take him to the Valentine's Day Dinner," he murmured.

"Why?" Temeki asked nervously. She caught herself looking at the Suna shinobi's mouth and had to force herself to stop.

Kankuro noticed the look and smirked again. He leaned in closer until his lips almost touched hers. The look in the girl's eyes was one of confusion mixed with a bit of lust. Kankuro's smile widened.

"Because I always take _you, _Temeki-chan," he whispered before covering her mouth with his.

Temeki lost herself in the kiss for a moment before she remembered.

_Hold on, _a low voice whispered in her head. _You are not_ _really a girl! You're a _guy! _And you're not a _gay _guy!_

She pulled away from the older man and stared into his eyes.

"Well," Kankuro said, licking his lips. "Looks like you're more than comfortable as Temeki, Sasuke."

Temeki jerked away and stood up. "I'll go with you to the Dinner because that's what we've always done and because I don't want to look for someone else so close to the Dinner itself," she said coldly. "But don't for one minute think that it means anything more than tradition. And that kiss wasn't anything but a lapse in judgment."

Kankuro waited until she was almost out of the room before he said, "Then I pray for many more 'lapses' in your judgment, Temeki-chan."

He laughed to himself as he turned to the piano and started playing a jaunty tune. He felt the presence of Kina behind him and winced, but didn't stop playing.

"You're a real bitch, you know that?" she asked.

"I know."

"She's confused enough as it is. It's been almost 6 years and that one's psyche is screwed up enough without your teasing," Kina stared at her husband's brother and sighed. "Temeki's a boy stuck in a female body, she doesn't need you to jerk her strings."

"A little jerking's not a bad thing," Kankuro joked. "Besides, a person can't live without some form of physical intimacy. It's a natural way to relax and she's _way _too tense for her own good."

Kina placed her hands heavily on her brother-in-law's shoulder and leaned down to place her lips next to his ear.

"And are your intentions for Temeki-chan's 'own good' or for yours?"

"She needs to choose a side and be done with it already," Kankuro grumbled.

Kina tightened her grip on the man's shoulders until she heard him draw in a sharp breath.

"And have _you _chosen a side yet, brother?" she asked softly.

Kankuro whispered a jutsu and transported across the room. Kina was left by the piano, holding one of his puppets.

"You're a real bitch, you know that Kina?" Kankuro spat.

A cold smile graced Kina's face as she threw the puppet at the boy.

"It must run in the family," she answered.

00000000000000000

Gaara stood in the drawing room that connected his and Kina's room to Lilith's and smiled. In the six years since the purple-eyed woman moved into this suite with him, subtle changes occurred. The couches were used more often and the occupants of the room laughed more.

There was also less sand in between the books on the bookshelf.

His smile widened at the reminder of his old habit of using his sand to take books off of the shelves rather than stand up and getting them himself. He brushed his hands down the now familiar weight of his Kazekage robes and looked up as the woman he married softly closed the door to their daughter's room.

Kina looked even more beautiful than ever. He was glad that she wasn't wearing the backless style that was now popular and acceptable Suna evening wear—thanks to her and Temeki. The white kimono with the blue dragon embroidered on the back suited her perfectly. He held out his hand and smiled again when she immediately took it.

"And what are you smiling about, Gaara-kun?" she asked.

"Just remembering, Kina-chan," he answered. He looked down at the woman in his arms and bent his head to kiss her.

"Don't you guys ever quit?" Temari asked as she and Shikamaru entered the room along with Temeki and Kankuro.

"Seriously," Temeki added, sweeping back the black skirts of her backless kimono and sitting down on a couch. "I don't understand how you don't have at least three more children the way you two carry on."

Temari adjusted her lavender kimono and cream obi before sitting down next to Temeki. "I wholeheartedly agree," she said.

"And when you two get married, I assume that you won't find your mates just as appealing?" Kina asked.

"I assume that I will be just as affectionate as you, Kina-chan," Temari said. "_If _anyone ever decides to ask me."

Everyone looked over to where Shikamaru was fixing drinks for everyone and smiled slyly. The shadow user just ignored the looks and continued preparing the before dinner drinks that had become a tradition between the Sabaku family and their dates on Valentine's Day.

Kankuro brushed a piece of lint from his black yukata and asked casually, "That's a great looking yukata, Shikamaru. Where did you get it?"

Shikamaru paused and flicked his finger down the lavender piping that trimmed the black yukata. "Temari chose it for me," he said. He turned around and passed everyone his or her drinks. When there were only two drinks on the tray, he picked them up, handed one to Temari, and sat down next to her.

Temari smiled at her boyfriend and looked down to take a sip. But instead of the usual apple green of her favorite alcoholic beverage, she found a clear martini glass full of water. She glanced questioningly at Shikamaru and raised an eyebrow.

"Look again," he said in a bored tone of voice, drinking his own martini.

Temari raised the glass to eye level and blinked as she saw a sapphire ring at the bottom.

A sapphire _engagement _ring.

She put the glass on the coffee table in front of them and stared at it as if it were poisonous. The others slowly became aware of the blonde kunoichi's stillness and halted their conversations.

"Well?" Shikamaru asked.

Temari remained silent.

"Women are so troublesome," he murmured. Shikamaru reached for the glass and took the ring out of the water. He knelt on one knee in front of Temari and held her left hand.

Kina and Temeki's eyes widened as they figured out what was going on.

"I told you 5 years ago, on the road to Suna, that I wouldn't give you a poetic proposal," he said, staring into Temari's dark blue eyes.

"I'm still not going to give you a poetic proposal. But my mission is going to end soon and I don't want to go through the trouble of a long distance relationship. This way, we can live together without your brothers or my mother coming after me."

Temari grinned at the mention of Shikamaru's domineering mother. She'd grown fond of the woman over the years and loved to hear stories about Shikamaru from her.

Shikamaru looked down at their hands and continued. "You are bossy, annoying, and you have a tendency to yell too much, but there are some days when you smile quietly and beautifully for me. That's why I'm with you. And, as troublesome as life is with you, I can't imagine how it could compare to life _without _you."

"And he said he wouldn't be poetic," Kina whispered. Temeki looked at the couple next to her and sighed, feeling twin pangs of happiness and envy once more. Gaara and Kankuro looked at each other and smirked. They were going to have fun re-telling the story to the rest of the Konoha guys.

"Well?" Shikamaru asked again, holding the ring in his left hand and her hand in his right.

"Well, what?" Temari demanded, her voice hoarse either with tears or anger. "You haven't even _asked _me what you wanted yet!"

Shikamaru smiled. "Will you marry me?"

Temari guided her finger onto the ring he held and said, "Yes!"

Kina and Temeki clapped and hugged the couple while Kankuro and Gaara opened a bottle of champagne.

"Now this Dinner really _will _be a party!" Kankuro announced.

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The Dinner was over and the guests were all gone. Gaara was glad for that fact. Kankuro had gone off somewhere while the newly engaged couple went off to celebrate in a more _private _venue. Gaara didn't feel the need to be overprotective of his sister for one night. After all, he had six years to get to used to the idea of the shadow user marrying his sister.

Kina was already asleep in the bed they shared. She was getting more and more tired of late and he wondered how long it would be before she finally told him her news.

As the Kazekage, he knew that this development would place pressure on the others involved and that the chances of stopping Akatsuki would be cut almost in half. It was against policy to allow pregnant kunoichis to fight. But it was also against policy for hunter nins to be pregnant in the first place. But Kina was unique—in every way imaginable.

As Kina's husband, he was happy and excited at the prospect of becoming a father once more. Lilith was a gift from the gods to the two demon vessels. Although she had a dark side like her father's, she embodied all of the goodness and light in Gaara's world. Another baby would do nothing but add to the feeling of peace and contentment that had found its way into his soul.

He knew that for the sake of his family that the plan to stop Akatsuki _must_ succeed. Everything depended on five people. Two resided safely in Konoha, where they lived and trained to become stronger. One slept safely in her bed in the building Gaara was standing on. The fourth was himself. And…

Gaara turned his head toward the solitary figure sitting on the rooftop.

_And the fifth is right here,_ he thought.

"Am I in your spot, Gaara?" Temeki asked softly.

He chuckled and sat next to the former Uchiha. "No," he whispered. "I just came here to think."

"About Temari and Shikamaru?" she asked.

"Yes," he admitted. "And other things."

"When Shikamaru returns to Konoha with his psych report on me, will you let Temari go with him?"

"Perhaps," he said. "They need to inform the Nara Clan."

"That's for sure," she answered. "Temari told me that she wants to get married in less than two months."

"That's pretty fast," Gaara said, surprised.

"She said that she waited long enough for Shikamaru to propose," Temeki laughed. "She wants to marry the idiot already."

"Well," he said, looking at the stars. "Temari will have to return and settle her accounts here before she permanently moves to Konoha."

Temeki turned towards the redhead and sighed. "She _has _to move? And you're okay with that?"

Gaara shrugged and looked at the dark sky. "Of course she has to move. Shikamaru's the heir to the Nara Clan. She will be with her husband and perhaps Tsunade will make her a shinobi of Konoha. Temari's a big girl now. I don't begrudge her happiness."

"No," she whispered, placing her head on her knees. "You wouldn't begrudge anyone their happiness."

"I would if it hurt the people I care about," was the quick answer. "Tough times are ahead, Temeki."

Temeki looked at Gaara again and stiffened. It was the second time this week that the redhead had mentioned something about tough or difficult times. She knew that he was planning something for Akatsuki, but didn't know what. The Kazekage didn't share that information with anyone—even if she was "Zannen: the hunter nin."

"You've become strong here in Suna," Gaara continued. "Stronger and more ruthless than you could have managed in Konoha. But perhaps not as strong as you could have been if you had stayed with your former master."

"I might have become stronger with him," she admitted. "But then again, I might not have. Naruto told me something that a boy named Haku once told him."

"_It is when you have someone important to protect that you become truly strong."_

The two shinobi whispered the sentence at the same time.

At Temeki's startled look, Gaara half-smiled.

"That's what Naruto told me, too," he said. "After that battle between him and Shukaku. He told me that he was strong because he had to protect his precious people." The redhead stared directly into Temeki's light blue eyes. "He also told me that the pain of being completely alone wasn't of this world."

"I'm not alone," she said. "I have Kina and Lilith. I have you and your siblings. I have my students and Naruto and Kakashi." She held her ankles and leaned her head forward. "I'm not alone."

Gaara noticed that the former Uchiha failed to list Haruno Sakura as one of her precious people. In fact, Temeki didn't name _any _of the shinobis she'd dated over the years.

"But you _are _lonely," he corrected softly.

"And if I am a bit lonely?" she asked. "Not everyone needs a mate, Gaara. I still have precious people in my life. I'm still fine."

"Lonliness can be dangerous," Gaara said. "Enemies can use it to put cracks in your strength and in your confidence. Lonliness can make men do extremely stupid and crazy things."

"Like transform into a being that looks like a girl and has baseball mitts for wings?" Temeki joked. (1)

"Or tattoo the word 'love' onto his forehead and kill everyone who annoys him?" Gaara added.

They laughed hollowly at their old foolishness and trailed off into silence.

"You already look like a girl…" Gaara murmured.

"But I'd still have to deal with the baseball mitt wings," she said.

"How's the seal doing?" he asked.

Temeki rubbed her shoulder where Orochimaru's seal would have been if she'd been in her original body.

"It didn't act up the last time you guys let me walk around in my old body," she answered. "Although you only let Sasuke out for two days."

"His chakra is too unique," Gaara answered. "Besides, Sasuke has to be seen every so often. You should know that he'll be making more appearances in the area, though. The plan won't work if everyone believes that he's dead instead of in hiding."

Temeki grabbed onto the tidbit that Sasuke was part of Gaara's plan for Akatsuki.

"So Sasuke will fight Itachi?" she asked.

Gaara pinned the girl with a harsh stare. "The _team_ will fight Akatsuki," he corrected. "If Sasuke decides to choose Itachi as his opponent, there's not much that the others can do about it."

She nodded and tried to keep her bloodlust down.

"If you can't handle the thought of fighting Itachi," Gaara began. "Then someone else might be ordered to fight him instead of you."

"I can handle it," Temeki said. She calmed down and stood up. "It's late and I have things to do tomorrow. Goodnight, Gaara."

Gaara watched as Temeki jumped from roof to roof, stopping a few buildings away and entering her apartment through the window.

"Goodnight, Sasuke," he whispered.

**

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A/N:**

I love the Valentine's Day Dinner…traditions should matter more. I find that as years pass, there are less and less of them being celebrated…something about everyone being too "cool" or whatever.

Okay! So the groundwork is laid out and things are starting to unfold…what will happen? We'll find out soon.

Oh yeah…can anyone tell me the full names and powers of all of the Akatsuki members? I know their first names…except for the Venus flytrap guy. I can _never _remember his name! Ugh…help is appreciated.

Later!

**(1) **Have you _seen _pictures of Sasuke in Stage 2? He looks like a freakin' girl with baseball mitts for wings on his back! Or worse…DUCK FEET! I mean, really…who's gonna be scared of something that looks like _that?_ No offense to the creators and artists of Naruto, but everytime he goes on screen like that I have to hold my sides and laugh.

At least Sakon and Ukon looked bad-ass and Tayuya…she looked _better _in Stage 2!


	5. Seeding the Field

**Disclaimer: **Naruto is not my creation…Kinaand Lilith are, but not anyone else.

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Chapter 5: Seeding the Field

Shouting wasn't an unusual occurrence in the Kazekage's Mansion. With two volatile leaders, three opinionated siblings, and a three-year-old, tempers and egos often clashed.

Case in point: everyone noticed how Temeki's attitude had changed subtly in the months after the Valentine's Day Dinner.

Some put it to her added duties at the Academy since Kinabuhi-sama announced that she was pregnant once more. Others whispered that it was her lack of male companionship that made the kunoichi so testy. Still others went one step further and gossiped that the kunoichi with the light-blue eyes had fallen in love with the shadow user from Konoha.

And they also whispered that the engagement and marriage between the aforementioned shadow user and the kunoichi's sister-in-law added to Temeki's bad temper.

But everyone agreed that today's argument put all of the previous ones to shame.

Kankuro, Temari, Shikamaru, and Lilith's eyes widened as they heard Kina and Temeki yelling at each other in Gaara's office.

The newlyweds had just returned from gathering the last of Temari's possessions from her old home and had only stopped to say goodbye. The quartet was in the foyer of the Mansion—one floor below and 25 meters away from Gaara's office.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US?" Kina yelled. "WE'VE DONE EVERYTHING WE COULD FOR YOU!"

"AND I'M STILL STUCK LIKE THIS!" Temeki yelled back. "YOU PROMISED THAT I WOULD GET STRONGER AND I'M NOT. YOU PROMISED I'D HAVE SOMETHING TO COME HOME TO EVERY NIGHT AND I DON'T. FACE IT, KINABUHI; I'M NOT LIKE YOU! I'M NOT GOING TO FIT INTO THIS PERFECT LIFE YOU HAVE!"

Kankuro and Temari looked at each other. Had the Uchiha finally snapped?

Shikamaru's eyebrows furrowed. He expected something like this to happen—in fact, Tsunade had all but guaranteed it when he'd given her Temeki's yearly psychiatric report. But he didn't know that it would start so soon.

"YOU'VE BARELY STARTED!" Kina replied. "IT'S SO LIKE YOU TO TRY TO GET EVERYTHING RIGHT AWAY! YOU'RE SO IMPATIENT, LIKE A CHILD!"

"DON'T CALL ME A CHILD, KINABUHI! JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE ONE DOESN'T AUTOMATICALLY MAKE YOU AN ADULT! WHO GETS PREGNANT AT SIXTEEN ANYWAY?"

Everyone heard a loud crash and Kina yelled again.

"DON'T YOU DARE TURN YOUR BACK ON ME, YAWA TEMEKI! I AM STILL YOUR SISTER!"

"_FOSTER _SISTER!" Temeki shot back. "WE'RE NOT RELATED BY BLOOD, KINABUHI. DON'T PRETEND THAT I WAS ANYTHING MORE THAN A CHARITY CASE TO YOU!"

"CHARITY CASE?" Kina asked, obviously furious. "IF I THOUGHT YOU WERE A CHARITY CASE I WOULD HAVE PATCHED YOU UP, GIVEN YOU SOME MONEY AND LEFT YOUR SORRY ASS! I WOULDN'T HAVE WASTED MY CHAKRA HEALING YOU BY THAT GODDAMNED RIVER! I SHOULD HAVE LET YOU ROT, YOU UNGRATEFUL BITCH!"

The three shinobi in the foyer froze. Kina's voice on the last sentence was filled with such hate and malice. It was also accompanied by the sound of her demon, Tsubakiri, making her presence known.

Lilith clung to her uncle in fear. She'd never heard her mother yell like that.

Kankuro handed the girl to a hovering servant and ordered them to lock themselves in the Kazekage suite.

"Tsubakiri might get out," Temari panicked and ran up the stairs, followed closely by Shikamaru and Kankuro.

Another crash vibrated throughout the Mansion and the trio quickened their steps.

They turned the corner in time to see Temeki get blown through the closed door of the Kazekage's office and slam against the wall by a beam of purple chakra. The girl tried to pick herself up off of the floor, but only made it to her knees before she fell back down.

"It's nothing more that you deserve you ingrate!" Kina yelled from the doorway. She was in her half-demon form, her hands in claws at her sides and her eyes glowing purple. Gaara stood behind his wife in _his_ half-demon form, his arms hooked around her shoulders and his tail wrapped around her waist to keep her from the still form of Temeki.

He glanced at the three shinobi in the hallway from between Kina's purple/black wings. "Get her out of here!" he shouted, the power of Shukaku's voice doubling the Kazekage's normal tone.

"You'd better get her out of here!" Kina echoed. "Tell that ungrateful bitch that she's no longer welcome in my house! I refuse to allow—"

No one noticed that Lilith was walking down the hallway until she stood in front of her enraged mother. Everyone held their breath, with the exception of Temeki, who was still knocked out, and Kina, who was still ranting.

"Mama," the three-year-old said, her voice echoing with the same dual voice-tones that her parents had. "You need to calm down. Brother is getting upset."

Kina looked down at her firstborn and blinked. Was it her anger, or did Lilith have red cat ears and a black tail? Kina watched as Lilith placed her small hand on her mother's stomach and repeated herself.

"Brother's upset," she said, Lilith's cat demon added depth to the three-year-old's voice. "You both need to sleep now."

Kina's demon features retracted as her eyelids dropped down. In the next moment, the woman was asleep in her husband's arms. Gaara stared at his daughter and marveled at the fact that she managed to manifest her demon and use her powers at such a young age. But fatherly pride had to be shown later. Other matters were more important at the moment.

He reigned in his demon and saw that Lilith did the same. Gaara looked at Kankuro and handed him Kina's sleeping form.

"Kankuro, take Kina to our room and let her sleep," Gaara said. "Lilith-chan, go with Uncle Kanky and Mama. Thank you for your help, but I'll talk to you about releasing your demon later."

"Akakuro," the girl answered. "My demon's name is Akakuro." (1)

Gaara nodded and kissed his daughter's cheek. "I'm very proud that you and Akakuro are working together to look after your Mama and brother," he said. "But I still need to talk to you later, okay?" He watched as Lilith followed Kankuro and waited until they turned the corner before he motioned Shikamaru and Temari to enter his demolished office.

"What happened?" Temari asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," Gaara admitted. "We were discussing maybe hiring some new teachers for the Academy and then suddenly, Temeki starts ranting. I don't know why, but Kina's been moody because of the pregnancy—she still has morning sickness and it's been bothering her."

"She didn't have that with Lilith," Temari noted.

"Right," Gaara said. "But because of that, Kinabuhi just snapped back at Temeki and then it escalated from there." The Kazekage rubbed his hands over his face and ran them through his hair.

"Temeki managed to knock me out for a bit when I tried to intervene," he said.

"And that pissed Kinabuhi-sama off," Shikamaru concluded.

The redhead nodded and looked at the couple. "Kinabuhi is mad at Temeki right now, and vice versa," he started. "The best thing for everyone is if they spent some time apart."

Temari looked at her brother and frowned. "What are you suggesting, Gaara?"

"I'm suggesting that you take Temeki with you as your handmaiden," he said. "She can help keep you from being too homesick and it will give them both some time to cool off. Maybe a change of scenery is all that she needs."

"A change of scenery, yes," Shikamaru said. "But is Konoha the right place for Temeki to go? Especially now that Sasuke's exile is so close to being finished?"

Gaara looked through his broken doorway and stared at the still unconscious Temeki. "I think it will work out," he said. "It will give her the time to handle the Uchiha accounts and refit the Uchiha residences. Let's give her until the Summer Festival before she comes back to Suna."

"But the Summer Festival is more than four months away," Temari said.

"Better for Temeki to cool off before then," Shikamaru said. "If she's beginning to lose her sanity, then Godaime-sama will demand that the contract be honored."

Temari looked at her husband in confusion and frowned. She had no idea what contract he was talking about. But if the way Gaara sighed and closed his eyes for a moment was any indication, it wasn't anything good.

"Take her and leave as soon as possible," Gaara said, making up his mind. "Go to Temeki's apartment and pack all of her belongings. Tie her to her horse if she still hasn't regained consciousness, but leave before Kina wakes up."

Temari shook the feeling of being rushed from her home and hurried to do as her brother ordered. It wasn't as if she was leaving for good. Temari looked at her brother and smiled. She'd be back to visit.

00000000000000000

"Shika-kun?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru looked over at his wife from his horse and raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you find it odd that all of Temeki's things were already packed?"

"Maybe she'd already planned on leaving and only went to Gaara today to ask for permission," Shikamaru said.

The blonde thought about it for a moment and frowned. "What do you think about Temeki's argument with Kina?"

He looked behind them and immediately saw Temeki's horse being led by a servant on another horse. He didn't miss the looks the others in their party gave the sleeping girl. Neither did he miss the whispers that were flying. He knew that as soon as they were settled in the Nara household, half of Konoha would know of Temeki's falling out with her sister.

He also knew that most would see her presence in the Hidden Village of Konoha as an exile from the Hidden Village of Sand.

"I think that maybe the loneliness got to her," he finally answered.

"But now a lot of people are going to hate her," Temari said. "The things she said about Suna and Kina-chan…the people in the village aren't easy to soothe when they're angry and they hold grudges for ridiculously long times."

Shikamaru shrugged and looked at the sky. It was going to rain soon. "Temeki made a mistake," he said. "No doubt about that. And she's going to have to pay for it."

Temari nodded sadly and turned to one of the servants in their entourage. "Pull the tarp over the wagon," she ordered. "It's going to rain."

00000000000000000

Temeki continued her pretense of being asleep even after the rain started falling. She knew that umbrellas were opened and offered to everyone in their group.

Everyone except her.

She had awoken tied to the back of her horse a while back. She subtly untied herself, but kept her eyes closed. If she opened them, she would have to meet the gazes of the others, and she didn't know if she could do that yet.

At least, not without showing the pain she felt glowing through her eyes. Everyone was going to expect bitterness and hate in the light blue orbs. Temeki didn't want to disappoint them.

Everything depended on it.

She was grateful for the rain. It hid the fact that tears spilled from her eyes. The scene with Kina was one of the most horrible experiences of Temeki's life.

It was one of the most horrible experiences of Sasuke's life, too.

For the second time in her wretched existence, Temeki found herself betraying the trust and love of the people she had once called friends.

_At least, this time I didn't do it for selfish reasons,_ she consoled herself. _This time I didn't do it to end life. But to_ protect _it._

**_FLASHBACK_**

"Do you understand, Temeki?" Gaara asked the girl.

She swallowed roughly and looked from her leader to his wife. Kina was looking at her with a worried expression and the blue-eyed woman hastened to relieve the tension that filled the room.

"I understand, Kazekage-sama," Temeki said. "I will do as you ask here in Suna. I will also accompany Shikamaru back to Konoha and aid him there. Once there, I will make every effort to reinforce everyone's idea that I hate you and your family."

Gaara nodded and held out his hand to her. "I know that this is a difficult thing for us to ask of you," he said.

Temeki smirked. "I have to admit, the possibility of becoming a missing nin from _two _Hidden Villages is one that never occurred to me. But the seeds must be planted."

Kina walked around Gaara's desk and hugged her foster sister close. "I'm so sorry," she cried. "We're asking you to play Judas and you're going to be hated as much as he was when everything is finished."

Temeki didn't know who Judas was, but she understood the basics of what the woman was saying. "It's alright," she said. "Just make sure that you stay safe. Make your clones as realistic as possible, Itachi's not the only one who can see through normal jutsus like that."

Kina nodded, returned to her position by Gaara's chair and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Ready?" he asked the two women.

Temeki took a deep breath and smiled at her foster sister one last time.

Kina nodded, tears already in her eyes. The purple-eyed woman opened her mouth and yelled loud enough for the entire Mansion to hear her.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH!"

**_END FLASHBACK_**

Temeki's tears flowed faster as she relived every moment of that stupid fight. She almost stopped when Gaara stood up and tried to get between the screaming women. But she remembered the hug Kina had given her.

Temeki remembered the feel of Kina's newly rounded stomach against her own flat one and immediately thought about her new niece or nephew.

The memory gave Temeki the strength of will to knock her friend unconscious and continue screaming at her foster sister.

_I've betrayed my family, _Temeki cried. _Over and over I'm destined to betray those I love._

The low voice of Sasuke echoed through Temeki's mind and reassured the girl.

_But the seeds _must_ be planted._

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A/N:**

Oh gosh…yeah writing that was kinda intense. Plots and intrigue abound in the next chapters…stay tuned!

**(1) **_Akakuro _is a combination of _aka_ and _kuro _which mean red and black, respectively. Lilith's demon is a red and black cat.


	6. Late Nights

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto…or Kakashi /sobs/ waaaahhhhh!

**A/N: **Warning…a small Temeki/Sakura scene coming up…just a little one, I swear!

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Chapter 6: Late Nights

**May 7**

Sakura, Shikamaru, and Naruto stood in front of Tsunade and waited.

It was late, almost 1 o'clock in the morning, when the pink haired healer received the Hokage's summons. The 20-year-old jounin quickly dressed and made her way to her sensei's office, only to find Shikamaru and Naruto already there and the office in darkness.

"I apologize for the sudden summons," the blonde Godaime apologized. "But something has come to the attention of our spy network that must be handled right away."

Before she could elaborate further, a gust of wind blew through the room and two masked hunter nin stood next to Naruto. Sakura went into a battle stance, but the others simply stood still. Naruto even went so far as to clap one of the hunter's on the shoulder in greeting.

"Sakura," Tsunade said. "I am aware that you have not had the pleasure of meeting two of Suna's best hunter nin. They are Aitou and Zannen." The two hunter's raised their hands, but in the darkness, Sakura could barely make out which name went with which person. "They've already met Shikamaru and Naruto on previous missions."

"I want you all to know that this mission is an S-class one," Tsunade continued. "Nara Shikamaru, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, your mission is to accompany the Suna hunter nin to the location specified on this scroll and stand guard while they apprehend their target."

Shikamaru took the scroll from Tsunade and nodded.

"You three are more familiar with the terrain than the Suna nin," she explained. "And the target will require both of them to subdue him. You three will stand as look outs and escort the hunters with their target to the safe area. That's also on the scroll, by the way. That is the extent of Konoha's involvement, is that clear, Naruto? You will not interfere with the Suna nin and you will forget the face of the target once this mission is over."

Sakura was surprised by the intensity and secrecy involved in this mission. _If it's so important, why not give it to ANBU? _Sakura wondered.

"Nara Shikamaru will be the Konoha team leader since he's worked with Aitou and Zannen before," Tsunade said. Sakura looked at the brunette from the corner of her eye. She wasn't surprised to hear that he'd worked with the two hunter nin. After all, he'd lived in Suna for half of the year for the past six years.

_And he's been promoted to jounin for his work there, _Sakura remembered.

The news of his promotion and his marraige to Temari was much talked about in the village. But not as talked about as Temeki's arguement her sister Kina.

"Sakura, you're the medic. Your, ah, special skills will be helpful tonight," she said, jerking the green-eyed girl from her thoughts. Tsunade's smile in the darkness of the room held a menacing quality that was quite foreign to the Konoha ninja.

"If I remember correctly, Aitou and Zannen's work is geared more toward assassination than capture and your ability to paralyze muscles may be needed. Naruto, you will follow the others and you're not to believe everything you see or hear, you got that, brat?"

The three nodded and Tsunade waved her hand.

"Dismissed!"

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Aitou and Zannen followed the three Konoha ninja through the forest. They communicated with each other using hand signs while the others were oblivious to their conversation.

'How are you holding up?' Zannen asked.

'The beginning of the second trimester sucks, but I'm fine,' Aitou said, briefly resting her hand on her stomach. 'Junior's being nice tonight.'

'Just remember to leave the heavy fighting to me,' Zannen reminded. 'Stick to your genjutsus and everything will be fine.'

Aitou nodded and kept her thoughts silent. She couldn't help but sign an additional comment to her partner.

'As long as you keep your composure everything _will_ be fine.'

Zannen sighed and smiled sadly behind her mask. 'I've missed you terribly, you know,' she admitted.

'Same here,' Aitou replied. 'Suna's not the same. Those kids in your third year taijutsu class are a hoot. Especially Ryouken, Touken, and Korena. Those three remind me of a certain team from a long time ago.'

'I bet.'

'But we've got the mission to do now,' Aitou reminded Zannen as the Konoha ninja stopped. 'And there'll be others.'

'Gaara and Tsunade will make sure of that.' Zannen signed back.

Sakura noticed the hand signs the two hunters were using, but didn't recognize them. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and focused on what Shikamaru was saying.

"The house should be about 20 meters ahead," he said to the group. "The hunters will go in and do their thing while we position ourselves in a triangle formation around the house. Sakura, Naruto, and I will act as lookouts and prevent anyone from getting to the house. Once Aitou and Zannen are done, you'll hear an eagle scream. That's the signal to head for the safe area."

Shikamaru turned towards Sakura and said calmly, "You have to wait until Aitou and Zannen reach you before heading out. They don't know the location of the safe area. They'll also need you to heal any wounds they might get. If something goes wrong and you hear an eagle scream for the second time, run."

Sakura nodded while Naruto pouted. She knew that he was upset at being demoted to 'lookout' but their jobs were just as important as the hunters'. Any mistakes on their parts could get them all killed.

"All right," the surprisingly soft voice of one of the hunter nins said. "Time to get this show on the road."

"This freak show, you mean," the other one joked.

"Shut up."

And with that startling exchange the hunter nins were gone.

Sakura looked over at Naruto and raised her eyebrows. The blonde just shrugged and headed east while Shikamaru headed west. Sakura stayed where she was and settled in for a spell.

_They sounded like sisters for a moment, _she thought.

00000000000000000

The house was silent as Aitou and Zannen crept into the building. Although they kept to the shadows, their presence was immediately noticed by the house's one occupant. A large hand grabbed Aitou's throat from behind and squeezed.

Aitou gasped and blinked.

The next moment, she was in the far corner of the house's one bedroom and Zannen stood in front of their target.

Zannen watched as the target's hand stilled in surprise before he reached back over his shoulder for something. Taking her chance, Zannen grabbed his shirt and threw him to the floor. She followed the man down and pressed her knee to his sternum. The weak firelight from the fireplace flickered over the man's face and Zannen froze.

There, in the flesh, and glaring at him with red, red, eyes was Uchiha Itachi.

Zannen felt her body freeze for a moment as rage went through her. She looked down at the man she had spent so much of her life trying to kill and her vision blurred for a moment. In the next, she felt a familiar burning sensation in her eyes and plowed her fist into Itachi's face.

She then proceeded to hit as many of his pressure points as quickly as possible and succeeded in knocking the Akatsuki member unconscious.

Zannen stood over the still form and blinked as the genjutsu dissolved and the features of Kisame revealed themselves. She ripped off her mask and stared at Aitou with red eyes.

"What the hell was that?" she asked furiously.

Aitou landed in front of the angry Zannen from her hiding place in the rafters near the ceiling of the room.

"It was a test," she answered calmly. Aitou quickly bound the shark-like man with ropes and binding jutsus. "It was ordered by the Hokage _and _the Kazekage."

"To see if I could remember my mission," Zannen finished. She looked at the far wall and absently deactivated her Sharingan. "You didn't come to help me. You came to make me think that Itachi was here."

Aitou grabbed the bound Akatsuki member and stood up. "You passed you know," she said, throwing the heavy man at the former Uchiha. "And you managed to activate your Sharingan in your female body. We've waited almost six years for you to be able to do that."

Zannen raised her free hand to her eyes and blinked. Aitou was right. She _had _managed to use her Sharingan.

"How…?"

Aitou placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head. "Female or not, you still have Uchiha blood in your veins. We need you to be able to use it for the next phase of the plan," she explained. "C'mon, it's almost morning and we still need to get that walking pile of sushi to the safe area. Junior gets cranky if I don't feed him before seven."

"Still eating that diet of French toast?" Zannen asked, placing her mask back over her face.

Aitou shook her head ruefully and sighed. "All French toast, all the time. I swear, this kid's gonna come out of the womb saying things like 'where are ze ziggarettes?' or 'I am le tired!'"

"_Why_ do you talk like that?" Zannen asked as they left the house.

"You should be used to it by now," she responded.

Aitou threw back her head and the sound of an eagle's scream tore through the forest.

00000000000000000

Sakura jerked as she heard the signal and took out her kunai as the two hunters approached her position with a large man trapped between them. As they neared, she recognized the cloak of an Akatsuki member.

"We need you to paralyze his arms and legs," Zannen whispered to the pink-haired kunoichi. "He's unconscious now, but it won't last more than a few more minutes."

"If his muscles are paralyzed, then we can take him to the safe area without too much trouble," Aitou added.

Sakura nodded and concentrated. Green chakra accumulated at her hands and she placed them on the arms of the shark-like man.

"Is this Kisame?" she asked.

"Yes," Zannen said, watching her movements. "But you will forget that fact when morning comes."

"Hai, Zannen-san," she agreed, moving to his legs and paralyzing the muscles there. When she was done, the two Suna hunters stood back up and waited for her to lead them to the safe zone.

"We have to hurry," Aitou murmured. Her stomach was growling and she knew that her baby wanted food—fast.

Sakura and Zannen nodded and quickened their pace. They looked over as a groan came from the slowly waking Kisame.

"You!" the missing nin growled. "What did you do to me, you bitch? I'll kill you slowly and painfully, trust me."

"Oh, shut up!" Aitou snarled, punching him in the face and knocking him out for the second time that night.

The other two just looked at her. Sakura's jaw gaped in surprise, while Zannen simply shook her head and laughed softly.

"You get scary when you're in your 'hunter mode,' Aitou," Zannen confided.

"I hav to get ze French back into ze zyztem," Aitou explained.

"What?" Sakura asked, confused.

"_Why _do you _talk _like that?" Zannen asked.

The hunter was silent for a few moments, but then she replied:

"You know you love it."

**

* * *

June 23**

Sakura was exhausted.

She had just spent the day shopping with Temari, Temeki, and Shikamaru's mother for the newlywed's new home.

_What made Temari so certain that she wanted her living room in shades of green? _Sakura wondered. _And why does Shikamaru's mother always insist on the color pink? God, that woman is _bossy

She'd also noticed that Temeki had been quieter and more brooding than usual.

A messenger arrived the day before to tell the two Suna kunoichi that Kina's pregnancy wasn't going that well. The messenger also mentioned that both the Kazekage and his wife would be in seclusion for the next month and that the couple had requested not only Tsunade, but Shizune and Sakura to attend to the woman's labor when the time came.

The newly married Nara Temari worried. Temeki simply shrugged her shoulders as if to say, _"And I should care because…?"_

Sakura wondered what had happened to make the normally good-natured Temeki argue with her normally kind-hearted sister. Even though they weren't related by blood, the two were closer than any sisters that Sakura had ever seen. She couldn't even begin to guess at the rift between the two.

Kina and Temari were being extremely tight-lipped about it.

Temeki's reaction was always to murmur the word "Bitch" and walk off in the other direction.

No one seemed to know who exactly the "bitch" Temeki was talking about, but almost everyone believed that the remark was directed towards a certain purple-eyed kunoichi from Suna.

It also didn't help that Sakura felt a certain amount of coldness coming from the other girl.

_Not that Temeki is ever out-right rude to me,_ Sakura thought._ Not the way Sasuke was._ She didn't know exactly when it started, but over the years, Sakura unconsciously began comparing Temeki to her long-lost love.

Sakura wasn't attracted to her in a sexual or romantic way—much.

It wasn't in the same way she was attracted to Sasuke. But there were times when the Suna kunoichi would move in that easy, silent, sexy way that only the Uchiha used to move. There were also times when Temeki had the same look of irritation/contempt in her pale blue eyes that Sasuke often had whenever he would look at her.

Then there was that incident at Temari and Shikamaru's wedding reception.

**_FLASHBACK_**

It was during the reception for Temari and Shikamaru's wedding that the pink-haired jounin faced the combined wrath of Kina and Gaara for exposing their daughter to the word "virgin" a full ten years too early.

_To hear Gaara talk about it, his daughter shouldn't know what sex is until she's forty, _Inner Sakura snorted.

The other Sand siblings told her the same thing the couple did—although at a much softer volume and without the threats of dismemberment. Even Shikamaru went through the "troublesome" task of scolding both Sakura and Tenten.

Temeki remained silent during the exchanges and simply looked at Sakura with her ice blue eyes. The look in them was eerily similar to the look Sakura remembered Sasuke giving her before he left Konoha. The other woman simply gave off an aura of annoyance, contempt, amusement, and disappointment all coated by a thin layer of excitement.

When the others left to rejoin the party, Temeki was the only one who remained with the thoroughly chastised Haruno Sakura.

"Was he any good?" Temeki asked, suddenly.

Sakura jerked from her seat on the couch. She looked up at the beautifully dressed kunoichi and swallowed slowly. She stood up and ran her hands down the mint green skirt of her bridesmaid's dress and walked over to the door. She was almost out of the room before Temeki asked the question again.

"Was Aburame Shino good enough for your first time?"

_That is ENOUGH! _Inner Sakura screamed.

Sakura turned around. The backless dress caused goose bumps to rise on her skin as she stared at the equally bare back of Temeki in her ice blue version of the bridesmaid's dress. The Suna kunoichi looked stunning in the gown whereas Sakura just felt uncomfortable. But then again, since Yawa Temeki was Kina's sister, she was used to wearing clothes that were backless. (1)

"That's none of your business!" Sakura softly, but sternly, said.

"I thought that you would save yourself for that Uchiha boy," Temeki said, not looking at the other woman.

"Everyone told me about how you begged for him to stay and how hard you worked to find him and become strong for him. For close to six years I've seen you follow lead after lead trying to find your so-called love. But I guess, your love wasn't as strong as everyone led me to believe. It wasn't as strong as _you _led me to believe."

Sakura stiffened at the sound of disappointment in Temeki's voice and guilt swept through her. But the emotion was swiftly followed by anger.

Anger towards this woman who didn't know the agony of not knowing, not seeing, not hearing _anything _about her beloved.

Anger towards the wasted years she spent searching for someone who obviously didn't want to be found.

Anger towards her own weakness and need for human companionship.

Anger towards herself for being stupid enough to love Uchiha Sasuke.

Anger towards herself for loving him still while she slept in the arms of another man.

"I was lonely," Sakura whispered, looking at the creamy expanse of Temeki's back. It looked so much like the skin of another person she knew and wondered if it would be as soft as his.

Even the way the light shines off of her hair is the same… 

"Lonliness can make people to crazy things. I'll always love Sasuke, but things change; people change. Until I can talk to him and hold him, this is what I need to keep me sane. I _need _to be able to physically hold onto someone. I can't hold onto the past…it'll make me crazy. It's been more than six years of waiting, of wondering. Temeki," she pleaded with the other woman. "Please tell me you understand."

"Hn."

The pink-haired leaf nin startled at the familiar syllable and stared at Temeki. The other woman looked over her shoulder and pierced Sakura with her ice blue eyes. She was surprised by the intensity in them. She was frozen in place as Temeki turned and strutted—yes, _strutted_—to her side.

_That walk is so familiar…_Sakura thought.

"If Sasuke is anything like what you've told me, then he's pretty possessive," Temeki whispered, brushing her bangs off of her face with the back of her hand.

"Huh?" she asked, mesmerized again by the eerily familiar gesture. _Sasuke used to do that…_

"When the mighty Uchiha returns to Konoha, he might not like it when he hears what you've been up to."

Sakura backed up against the doorframe and watched a strange light enter Temeki's eyes.

"Aburame might make you feel good, but I'm pretty damn sure that Sasuke wouldn't mind at all if it was _me _fulfilling your needs," Temeki smirked as if she knew an amusing secret. She stood close to Sakura and ran her hand slowly down the leaf nin's shoulder and back.

"W-what?" Sakura stammered, shivering at the touch. Temeki's smirk grew and warmth invaded her light blue eyes.

"Next time you get the need to hold someone, try calling me, Sakura-chan," Temeki said before covering Sakura's lips with her own.

It was pure shock that had Sakura responding to the kiss. That and the fact that the other woman's lips were petal soft. Hands that were lightly callused from constantly handling weapons gripped the leaf nin's back and her body was crushed to Temeki's as the kiss deepened.

It wasn't until she felt Temeki's hands in her hair that she pulled back and stared at the Suna kunoichi in wonder and not a little bit of shock. Sakura felt the heavy weight of her hair fall down and cover her back. She'd let it grow since she cut it so long ago and now the strands fell to the middle of her back.

Temeki stepped back and pulled the pins out of her own upswept hair as she let the long black locks fall around her shoulders.

"Keep your hair down for the rest of the night, Sakura-chan," Temeki commanded silkily.

Sakura couldn't do anything other than nod as she practically ran out of the room.

_What the HELL just happened? _Sakura asked herself.

_You were kissed by a girl, _Inner Sakura answered. _And you _liked _it._

_Crap._

_**END FLASHBACK**_

Now whenever Sakura saw Temeki, there was an awkwardness around them. They didn't joke the way they used to and whenever someone brought up the subject of Sakura's sex life, the Suna nin became strangely quiet and brooding.

An almost _Sasuke _type of brooding.

Sakura also noticed that whenever she saw the Suna kunoichi, she either wore clothing that covered her back or—if she was wearing one of her backless tops—her long strands of black hair covered as much of the exposed skin as possible. Since most of her clothing consisted of backless kimonos and shirts, the sight of Temeki walking around Konoha with her hair floating in the wind was now a commonplace occurrence.

Sakura found the sight of Temeki's hair loose around her knees and the occasional glimpse of pale skin through the long locks strangely erotic.

_Crap, _Inner Sakura swore, discreetly wiping the blood from her upper lip.

Everyone saw the change in Temeki's style and wondered at the significance of it.

Sakura didn't have to wonder…she already knew what it meant.

When Kina and Temeki were first introduced to everyone during the Welcome Dinner six years ago, Kina had explained their customs concerning Temeki's dress code.

Apparently in their homeland, single women revealed their bare backs to attract potential mates. Once a woman found who she was looking for, she would cover her back so that the only person who saw it was her mate—whoever that person was.

With that knowledge and the memory of what Temeki told her at the wedding, Sakura was sure that the other woman considered her a potential mate.

_Holy fucking crap! _Inner Sakura yelled, slamming her head against a wall.

_You said it, _Sakura agreed.

The pink-haired kunoichi thought and wondered and agonized about it until long past midnight and then finally decided to go to sleep.

She was totally unaware of the ice blue eyes that watched her through her bedroom window.

"I'll have you soon, Sakura-chan," Temeki whispered.

_You mean **I'll **have her soon, _Sasuke's voice echoed in her head.

"Yeah," she said, making her way to the Nara estate where she was staying. "That's what I meant."

**

* * *

July 17**

Sakura woke up to the sound of someone tapping on her bedroom window. She wanted to slip the pillow over her head and ignore the sound. But the tapping continued and Sakura finally got out of bed and opened her window.

_It'd better not be Shino…_she grumbled to herself. Fun was fun, but it didn't have to lead to marriage. The boy just couldn't take a hint.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered. "Don't hit me, I'm on a mission."

The word 'mission' blasted the sleep from her mind and she stared at the blonde in wonder. Instead of his usual outfit, Naruto wore the black uniform and white vest of an ANBU member. He tossed a bag at Sakura and she caught it, staring at him dumbly.

"The mission is for you too, Sakura," he said. "Tsunade-baachan wants us there, _now_! Get dressed in those and meet me on your roof."

Sakura opened her mouth to ask what kind of mission, but the 19-year-old was gone. She changed into the ANBU outfit in the bag and put the white and blue porcelain bird mask on her face. She crawled out of her window and met Naruto, who wore a white and black wolf mask, on her roof.

"From now on my name is Nonki," Naruto stated. "You'll be Ikasu." (2)

Sakura nodded and Naruto started jumping from roof to roof, expecting her to follow. After a while, he stopped and the pink haired kunoichi stopped beside him.

"We have to hold hands to get any farther," he said. "I'm not trying anything funny. But that's how the barrier works." Naruto took Sakura's hand and together they jumped onto the street below them.

Sakura didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't the old and crumbled buildings of the Uchiha district.

Naruto took her through the deserted streets and into one of the buildings. Once inside they were met by a tall ANBU with a red and white dog mask and gray hair. Sakura knew immediately who it was, but waited for him to introduce himself.

"Nonki, Ikasu," he said, holding up his hand. "It took you two long enough. Hokage-sama wanted me to tell you that the mission you had with Aitou and Zannen went well and they recommended that she promote at least you two to ANBU. You can call me Taizen, by the way." (3)

Sakura was a bit shocked that the two Suna hunters recommended them. Especially since they only had one previous mission together.

"Ikasu," Taizen, who was really Kakashi, said. "I've no need to tell Nonki this, so this is entirely for your benefit. What you see here will be a shock to you. But remember that as a shinobi you cannot reveal your emotions. You've had trouble with this in the past, but I know that you are able to remain still and silent when you need to be."

"And will I need to be, Taizen?" she asked. It felt strange to address her old sensei in such a manner. But they were all ANBU now—they were equals.

"Yes, Ikasu," Nonki answered, brushing his hand through his blonde hair. "You also have to keep everything tonight secret. Learn to separate what you see and do from your public life. It'll become second nature to you now that you're ANBU."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at Naruto. He was subtly reminding her that now that she had the code name, she _was _Ikasu. When her mask was in place, Haruno Sakura no longer existed.

Accepting what they told her, Ikasu nodded and straightened her shoulders.

At that moment, Tsunade stepped from the shadows and smiled at the trio before her.

"This mission will be different," she said softly. "Ikasu, your role tonight is solely based on your medical training. Tonight will be difficult for everyone involved, but it will be extremely stressful for one of the participants. Follow me."

The three followed the blonde Hokage down several flights of stairs. Ikasu and Nonki noticed the dank smell of dirt as they continued down a corridor. After a few meters, they stopped and Taizen knocked on a large metal door.

The door slowly swung open to reveal a large room with seals written on the floor and walls. In the center of the room sat the hunter nin, Zannen.

Ikasu badly wanted to gasp in surprise, but remembered the little pep talk Taizen and Nonki had given her. She looked to the left and noticed two other people already in the room.

"Kazekage-sama, Aitou-san," Nonki said, holding out his hand. Aitou gripped his forearm and stepped back to allow Gaara to do the same. They easy way they greeted each other spoke of years of trust.

Ikasu had a feeling that the three knew each other on a deeper level than mere allies.

"Taizen," Tsunade commanded. "You and I will form a barrier around the room. Absolutely no chakra can leave here. Nonki, you, the Kazekage, and Aitou know what to do. Ikasu, you will stand by Aitou and monitor the lifesigns of her and her child."

Ikasu couldn't help but whip her head towards the masked Suna hunter.

_She's pregnant? _she thought. _Hunter's aren't supposed to get pregnant!_

Gaara smiled and said, "This will be her last mission for a while."

"We'll just see about that," Aitou muttered.

Ikasu shook her head and simply walked over to the hunter nin. Now that her concentration was focused on her, Sakura noticed something familiar about the other woman's chakra signature. Shock radiated through her as Ikasu realized that Aitou was Sabaku no Kinabuhi, Gaara's wife.

"I knew that naming you Ikasu was the right choice," Aitou whispered as she stood on a triangle that had been drawn on the ground.

Ikasu remained silent as she focused on the lifesigns of her friend and her baby. Her eyes widened in surprise and a smile formed on her lips before Gaara's voice brought her back to the present.

"We will begin the jutsu now," he said, standing on a similar triangle 10 meters away from Aitou. Nonki stood on the third triangle exactly 10 meters away from Gaara and 10 meters away from Aitou.

"It won't be the same as it was six years ago," Tsunade warned the group. Ikasu and Taizen were confused, but the other four nodded. "The pain will be worse—for all of you. Aitou, I want you to save as much chakra as you can. The other two will be able to compensate. Just make sure that you weave your chakra into the pattern evenly."

Aitou nodded and placed her hands in the Master Seal. Gaara and Nonki followed suit.

Ikasu watched as red chakra poured from Nonki. The chakra made its way to Aitou and Gaara, connecting the points and creating a triangle around Zannen. She noticed that gold chakra came from Gaara and repeated the path that Nonki's did.

She concentrated on Aitou as purple chakra poured from the woman. She was glad to notice that, instead of the broad lines the men produced, her chakra was a thinner line that weaved between the red and gold. Ikasu released a breath as she monitored Aitou's lifesigns.

_Everything's normal, _she thought. _Enough energy is still left to protect her womb._

Ikasu was dimly aware of the woven lines of chakra making their way to Zannen and the hunter nin's strangled cry of pain. She was more concerned with her part of the mission and the health of her charges.

When the jutsu was completed, she was there to catch Aitou when the other woman sagged in exhaustion.

"She's fine. She and the babies are fine," she reassured Gaara. The man nodded and allowed Ikasu to run glowing green hands down Aitou's body to restore some of the chakra the other woman lost.

"Did it work?" Nonki asked, running his hand through his sweat dampened hair.

"It sure as hell did," a deep voice murmured.

Ikasu turned quickly as Zannen stood up and removed her mask.

Only to reveal the face of Uchiha Sasuke.

"Good," Tsunade nodded. She walked up to the Uchiha and clapped him on the shoulder. "Now you can transform whenever you wish—instead of waiting for one of the others to let you out." (4)

"Transform?" Ikasu asked, forgetting her role as an ANBU member. "Let _who _out?"

"We need to tell her," Aitou said, sitting up. "She's a part of the plan too, y'know."

"We don't have time to brief her now. It's almost dawn and people will expect _her_ to be back soon," Nonki said, jerking his head towards the transformed Zannen.

He surprised Ikasu with his maturity and command of the situation. Even Tsunade and Gaara acknowledged the teenager's point and agreed.

"Just be ready, Ikasu, Nonki," Tsunade said to the two new ANBU. "If you come across any documents or hear anyone—and I mean _anyone_—mention the name _'Naiou'_ in your presence, immediately report to this place in your gear. If they say the name and follow it with a specific location, head there as fast as possible." (5)

"Naiou?" Ikasu repeated. "And this Naiou person is?"

"Me," Sasuke answered.

"Are you _really_ Sasuke?" Ikasu wondered.

The dark-haired 20-year-old smirked and said, "Damn right, I am."

"Your questions will be answered later today, Ikasu," Tsunade told her apprentice. "The specifics will be given to you after your ANBU initiation."

"We have to get going. We're not even supposed to be here. I—wait," Aitou said, getting up and pointing at Ikasu. "Pinky said that me and my babies were fine."

"My name's Ikasu," the pink-haired kunoichi reminded.

"Forget that," Aitou snapped. "After the jutsu, you said 'she and the babies are fine.' What do you mean by babies?"

"I mean babies," Ikasu smirked behind her mask.

"But I'm only having one," Aitou said.

"No," Tsunade corrected after she looked over the hunter nin herself. "Ikasu's right. You're having _babies_—plural."

"What?" Aitou gasped. She turned to Gaara and placed her hands on her hips. "Multiple births don't run in my family."

"Did I mention that my mother had a twin brother?" Gaara asked, slowly turning red. He knew that he was in trouble when they got back to Suna.

"Your uncle was your mother's twin?" Aitou asked. "The same uncle who tried to assassinate you when you were seven? _That _uncle?"

"Yeah."

"How many?"

"Well, I only had one uncle," Gaara answered. "And he only tried to assassinate me once. Before I killed him, of course."

"Of course," she echoed, perfectly unfazed by the fact that Gaara killed his own uncle. Aitou stomped her foot on the ground and turned to Ikasu and Tsunade.

"I _meant _how many babies are there?"

"Two," Tsunade said. "And they don't seem to have any side effects from performing the _chikara henge no jutsu._" (Forced Transformation Technique)

"Two…" Aitou repeated.

Ikasu blinked as Sasuke pushed a shocked Gaara out of the way and hugged Aitou gently.

"Congratulations, sister," he whispered and kissed her masked cheek.

Ikasu suddenly remembered the sisterly banter between Zannen and Aitou during her first mission with the duo. She also remembered a hundred different tidbits and memories that added to her growing theory.

Including the fact that Temeki was fond of calling Kina 'sister.'

"Zannen is Temeki," she whispered. All thoughts of being a stoic and silent nija flew out the door as she raged and pointed at Sasuke. "Temeki is _you! _You've been living in Suna all this time. You weren't with Orochimaru at all and you weren't dead either!"

Aitou and Sasuke shared a look. He smirked at Ikasu and hugged his foster sister once more.

"I told you that Ikasu was the perfect code name for her," he laughed.

**

* * *

A/N:**

Sorry if the female/female thing got some of you uncomfortable…but it's kinda part of the whole Sasuke/Temeki confusion thing.

Okay so the scene with the ANBU was confusing…keeping everyone's names straight is kinda hard. So I just thought up the fact that when they're in ANBU it's like they have a split personality. They have to be secretive anyway.

A little chart to keep everyone straight…

**Character name—ANBU or Hunter name (affiliation)**

Uzumaki Naruto—Nonki (Konoha ANBU)  
Hatake Kakashi—Taizen (Konoha ANBU)  
Haruno Sakura—Ikasu (Konoha ANBU)  
Sabaku no Kinabuhi—Aitou (Suna hunter nin)  
Yawa Temeki—Zannen (female Suna hunter nin)  
Uchiha Sasuke—Naiou (male Konoha ANBU)

**Temeki and Sasuke are the same person**

Sasuke has the most "split personalities" to deal with. They're also split between male and female…kinda makes him unstable, but that's part of the story.

**(1) **Kina wanted to shock Gaara in the first fic, so she designed a backless kimono dress. She told everyone that they were worn by maidens in her homeland to attract mates. _BALD FACED LIE!  
_Everyone in Naruto's world bought the story, so now they're popular for single women to wear.

**(2) **_Nonki _means 'reckless' or 'optimistic'—so it's a perfect code name for Naruto. _Ikasu _means 'smart' or 'to revive'—which is great for Sakura.

**(3) **_Taizen _means 'calm' or 'self-possessed.'

**(4) **In my first fic, "Finding Myself In You," Sasuke can only transform into Temeki and vice versa when either Naruto, Gaara, or Kina say the code word. This was to prevent the Uchiha from escaping. They didn't know where his loyalties were at that point.

**(5) **_Naiou _can mean either 'betrayal' or 'secret understanding.' It's appropriate considering Sasuke's past and the plans for Akatsuki going on.


	7. We Really Have To Talk

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto

**

* * *

**

Chapter 7: We _Really _Need to Talk

Sakura walked around Konoha the next afternoon in a semi-daze.

Her upper bicep hurt from the recently placed ANBU tattoo, but it was nothing compared to the throbbing of her brain as she tried to assimilate all of the information Tsunade stuffed into it during her mission briefing.

Yawa Temeki was really Uchiha Sasuke…and had been from the very first moment she rode through the gates of Konoha six years ago with Kina and Gaara.

Yawa Temeki was also Zannen, one half of the fiercest and most dangerous hunter nin duo to work in _any _of the Hidden Villages. Her partner, Aitou, was really her foster sister Sabaku no Kinabuhi.

Yawa Temeki, Uzumaki Naruto, Sabaku no Gaara, Sabaku no Kinabuhi, and her, Haruno Sakura, were all key players in the plan to take down Akatsuki.

Yawa Temeki was also the woman who had kissed and come onto her a few months ago at Temari and Shikamaru's wedding.

Sakura blushed at the memory. She reddened even further as she looped back to her first thought.

_Yawa Temeki was really Uchiha Sasuke…_

She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice the person walking toward her until she bumped into him. If it weren't for the strong hands that grabbed her arms, Sakura would've fallen over.

Unfortunately, he grabbed her arm on the exact spot her new tattoo resided.

"OW!"

The hands immediately let go and a frown line appeared on the man's brow.

"I didn't even grab you that hard, Sakura-chan," Shino said softly.

_Oh, CRAP! _Inner Sakura yelled. _RUN!_

_I am not going to run, you idiot, _Sakura berated her inner self. _It's just Shino._

_But you broke up with him last week remember?_

_Oh, yeah, _Sakura replied.

Shino stood patiently until the blank look on Sakura's features cleared. After knowing and observing the girl for the past seven years, he knew that the moment would soon pass. It wasn't as if he didn't have a few quirks of his own, so he didn't mind when other people showed theirs.

"Hi Shino!" she finally said, smiling brightly at the man. "Didn't see you there!"

"Obviously," was the answer.

Sakura's eye twitched. The bug user's habit of one-word conversations was one of the reasons she broke up with him.

_But Sasuke is pretty much the same, _Inner Sakura said.

_I thought you didn't want Shino, _Sakura shot back. _Shut up now. He's looking at us funny._

"Where're you headed, Shino?"

"I was going to your apartment, actually."

_Wow…a sentence…_Inner Sakura chuckled. 

_I thought I told you to shut up!_

"Why?"

"Lunch."

Sakura sighed. "I thought we went over this."

"It's just lunch."

She was about to answer when she saw Temeki walking towards them. The other woman's face was a mask of determination and Sakura recognized the possessive look in her eyes.

_How did I not notice that before? _Sakura asked herself. _Her eyes have the same look as Sasuke's…it's so obvious now._

Temeki stopped next to Sakura and looked Shino up and down. "Aburame-san," she said coldly.

"Yawa-san," Shino replied, equally cold.

Temeki turned from him with a flick of her long hair and stared at Sakura. "We need to talk," she said.

"Sakura-chan and I were going to lunch," Shino said, reaching for Sakura's elbow. Temeki blocked his move by placing her arm around the pink-haired woman's waist and pulling her body close to hers.

"Gonna have to pass," Temeki sneered. "Girl stuff…you understand."

Before Shino could answer, Temeki and Sakura disappeared in a large gust of wind.

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When Sakura and Temeki reappeared, she tore herself from the woman's hold and leaned against the Memorial Stone.

"You didn't have to do that," she gasped at the Suna nin.

"Yes, I did," was the answer. "CD!"

Sakura gasped as Temeki fell to her knees and transformed into Sasuke.

"We need to talk," he repeated.

Sakura felt anger pour through her and started in on the boy she missed so much.

"You're damn right we need to talk!" she said, somehow remembering to keep her voice low enough so that they wouldn't attract attention. "Six years, Sasuke! _Six fucking years!_"

Sasuke looked down and had the grace to look ashamed. "We wanted to tell you."

"All you did was treat me like a friend as I told you about Sasuke and you were really Temeki all along," she ranted. "You saw how depressed I got whenever news came back about Sasuke! Naruto kept looking and I kept looking, but you were in Suna all safe and sound! I—huh? We? Who's we?"

"That finally got through to you, huh?" Sasuke asked. A small smile floated over his features and Sakura was reminded of the same smile on Temeki's face.

"Who's we?"

"Basically everyone who was in the Uchiha's chamber last night," he answered.

Sakura reeled as the meaning of his sentence got through to her.

"Tsunade-sama knew? Kakashi? _Naruto knew?_"

"Yes. He wanted to tell you, but we all agreed that the fewer people who knew, the better."

"Why wasn't I told?" Sakura absently traced some of the names on the Memorial Stone. Her head came up sharply at a stray thought. "Was it because I wasn't strong enough?"

"NO!" Sasuke yelled. "You're strong, Sakura. You're heart, mind, soul…in everything that matters, you're strong. Stronger than I was…"

She stared at this new humble version of Sasuke and gaped.

"You could have told me," she whispered. "You could have visited."

"No I couldn't," Sasuke stated. He sat down against the wooden pole Kakashi had tied Naruto to so long ago. "Not until my sentence was finished."

Sakura walked over to the Uchiha and knelt down next to him, but slightly facing him so that she could look into his eyes. His hair was long now—as long as Temeki's hair really was, Sakura realized. The look should've been ridiculous on him, since Temeki's hair ended at her knees. But somehow it worked on him.

_He's still gorgeous._

"Sentence?" Sakura prompted when he stopped talking.

"I was guilty of leaving the village, Sakura," Sasuke said, leaning his head back and staring at the clouds. "I went to Orochimaru. I hurt and almost killed Naruto. I had to be punished _somehow._"

She nodded and looked at her lap. She knew what he said was true.

"I was exiled from Konoha for six years," Sasuke said. He looked over at the woman next to him and smiled again. "For six years I couldn't enter Konoha as Uchiha Sasuke."

"But Yawa Temeki could," Sakura realized.

"Yes, Yawa Temeki could," he repeated. "I learned so much whenever I visited here in her body. I saw the village through different eyes. It was like getting to know everyone again. Only this time I got to know the _real _people instead of the polite masks everyone wore for the last Uchiha."

Sakura remained silent. She slowly understood the situation. Tsunade was a smart woman. She knew that Sasuke was an important asset to the village. What better way for Sasuke to get over his attitude problem than to adjust his thinking?

_But what a screwed up way to do it, _Sakura thought.

"What about that time?" Sakura asked, softly.

"You mean the kiss?"

_That's Sasuke for you, _Sakura mused. _Blunt as ever. Come to think of it, Temeki is the same way._

"Yes, the kiss. Did you mean it?"

Sasuke took her hand and looked at their entwined fingers. He was silent for so long, she didn't know if he would even answer.

"For as long as I can remember, you've said you loved me," he started. "I always thought you were kind of annoying. But at the same time, you were always _there._ When I left that night, I thanked you. Do you remember?"

"You knocked me out."

"Yeah…" a rueful smile played over his lips. "I thanked you because when you said that you loved me, I believed you. And it made me warm."

"Then why did you leave?"

"At the time, I didn't think that warmth was enough," Sasuke admitted. "And now that I've had time to think about it…I left to protect you."

Sakura pulled her hand out of his grip and frowned. "You were a cold bastard, Sasuke."

"Glad you knew it," he said, taking her hand again. "Sometimes I wondered."

"How did leaving protect me? I felt like _dying _Sasuke!"

"I know…and I'm sorry," Sasuke raised her hand to his lips and gently kissed her fingers one by one. "But I was messed up about things then. I thought that if I cared for you—if I cared for Naruto or Kakashi—then Itachi would come and take you away. It would have been so easy for him to do that. I couldn't bear the thought of losing any of you. So I left to get strong enough to kill him, to protect you."

Silence reigned for a few minutes before Sasuke sighed and spoke again.

"Even then I loved you."

Sakura had nothing to say to that.

He looked into her green eyes and touched her cheek. She watched his eyes widen a bit and then he whispered, "CD."

When Sasuke looked at her again, it was with ice blue eyes instead of onyx ones.

"Someone's coming," Temeki whispered.

Sakura nodded. "Keep talking to me, please." She placed her hand over Temeki's on her cheek and looked tenderly at the other woman.

"I learned to love you even more when I knew the real you, Sakura," Temeki continued, staring intently into her eyes. "I never knew that you were so funny or great to talk to or that you swore worse than Ino and Naruto combined when you're frustrated."

"Ino had to learn it from _someone,_" Sakura joked.

Ice blue met mint green for a few moments before Sakura closed the distance between them and kissed Temeki.

Temeki's heart pounded as she returned the kiss. She wrapped her arms around the other woman and raised herself so that they faced each other on their knees. Sakura buried her hand into Temeki's long hair and kissed her way to her ear.

"We really need to try this when you're a boy," she whispered mischievously.

Temeki laughed and pulled Sakura to her lips again. "You bet," she replied before taking the kunoichi's mouth once more.

They didn't hear the approach of the trio of jounin who stopped in their tracks at the sight.

"Holy shit!" Asuma said, the cigarette falling out of his mouth. "Is that Sakura?"

"Can't be anyone else with that pink hair," Kurenai answered. She stomped out the small fire her husband's cigarette started and pressed the flowers she held closer to her chest.

Kakashi just remained silent as he smirked at the sight. His little—okay, big—perverted mind enjoyed the scene and he felt the telltale dampness of a nosebleed soak through his mask. Even though he knew the truth about the situation, it was still amusing to watch the proper Sakura make out with the brash Temeki.

It was when he noticed Temeki's hands running over Sakura's back that he decided to clear his throat.

The two women broke apart and stared at the older group. Sakura turned bright red and then took Temeki's hand, a look of defiance in her eyes. Temeki simply stood up, taking Sakura with her, and smiled happily at the trio.

Kakashi had never seen such a bright smile on the former Uchiha's face—in either incarnation.

"If you're going to continue that, you might want to pick a different spot," the Copy Ninja drawled to his former students. "Lots of people are likely to visit the Memorial Stone today and innocent eyes might be scarred for life."

Temeki merely snorted elegantly. "Like yours?" she asked.

Sakura looked at the flowers in Kurenai's grasp and asked, "Who are the flowers for, Kurenai-senpai?" (1)

Kurenai looked down at the half crushed flowers and winced. "They're for Sandaime-sama," she answered.

"_That's _today?" Temeki asked, all traces of smugness and teasing gone.

"Yes," Asuma said, looking off into the distance.

Sakura's heart ached especially for the man. The Sandaime _was _his father, after all.

Temeki bowed low to the trio and Sakura followed suit.

"We are sorry for the disrespect," Temeki said softly, still bowing and looking at the ground. "We will leave you to your prayers and return later to pay our own respects to the dead."

Asuma realized that they were addressing him. Although everyone knew that he was the Third's son, they rarely awarded him this type of respect.

"I'm sure that Sarutobi-sama wouldn't mind," he said. "He probably would have a good laugh about it."

_Right after he cleaned up his nosebleed, _Asuma added silently. He didn't want to disparage the memory of his father, but he had no illusions as to how hentai the older man became in his old age.

"Nevertheless," Sakura said, slowly standing up straight. "We shouldn't have been acting that way here."

The older jounin nodded and watched as the couple walked away hand in hand.

"So what do you think of that, Kakashi?" Kurenai asked her friend.

_I think that things will become more interesting and complicated from now on, _he thought.

Out loud, he said, "I'm just happy that she's found someone besides Shino."

"No offense, Kurenai," Asuma said, shuddering lightly. "But your ex-student's a bit creepy."

"Now if only a certain baka blonde would open his eyes and look at one particular dark-haired heiress," Kakashi murmured.

Kurenai laughed and knelt in front of the Memorial Stone. After a quick prayer, she stood up and stared at the man.

"Sometimes, I think his head is as thick as this monument," she said.

"Hinata _could _be a little more aggressive," Kakashi said, defending his idiot ex-student.

This time it was Asuma who laughed. "You haven't been paying attention, Kakashi," he said. "She's done everything except get the boy drunk and dressing in a micro-mini."

"It might work," Kakashi replied, still trying to defend Naruto.

"The key word is 'might,'" Kurenai giggled.

The gray-haired man sighed. When his friends were right, they were right.

**A/N:**

Okay? Well…not too bad, right? Please review…I'm getting kinda down. (Writer's are a fragile species.)

**(1) **_Senpai _means "upper-classmen" or "elder" in Japanese.


	8. Torture and Other Unpleasant Things

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto or its characters

**A/N: **Thanks to those who reviewed...I think I was just depressed 'cuz my Spring Break was over. But I'm better now!

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**Chapter 8: Torture and Other Unpleasant Things**

Uchiha Itachi stared down at the man bowing at his feet and hid the disgust he felt.

_Stupid nobles, _he thought, disregarding the fact that he came from a noble house himself.

All the Akatsuki member had done was quietly ask why his partner, along with several other missing nins, suddenly disappeared from several of the noble's so-called 'safe houses.' Although, Itachi could care less about the other missing nins, his 'commander,' so to speak, preferred to hire the exiled ninjas for Akatsuki's more banal jobs.

_Like threatening stupid nobles, _Itachi groused. (A/N: love that word…'grouse.')

The man immediately began to apologize and babble. Itachi had no patience for such actions and sternly repeated his question.

"Why did Kisame disappear?" he asked. "You promised a safe haven."

"It was safe, my lord," the man sniveled and bowed lower.

"I went to the location," Itachi calmly stated, leaning against the wall. _Damn Akatsuki cloak weighs a ton. I should have let Sasori make me a new one instead of keeping my winter cloak,_ he complained to himself.

"And?" the noble asked.

"Kisame wasn't there. But the chakra signatures of two hunters were."

"Are you sure, Itachi-sama?" he asked. "The house _is_ close to Konoha. Perhaps hunters from that village took your friend?"

"He's not my friend," Itachi corrected. "And Konoha shinobi are no match for him—hunters included. No, the ones who took him were Aitou and Zannen."

The noble's shaking got worse as the Sharingan user stated the names of two of the best hunter nins on the continent.

"Those two are a nuisance, but they _are_ worthy of my time," Itachi said. He took out a map and spread it on the table, next to the map that showed the location of every safe haven the noble provided.

"What is that, my lord?" the noble asked, finally getting up and standing across from Itachi.

"It's a map indicating when and where your hideouts were attacked," he answered, boredom evident in his voice.

The noble squinted in the lamplight and pointed to a blue mark on Itachi's map. "I don't have any property in that village."

"No, you don't," Itachi responded, looking at the date next to the mark.

_But that's where people reported seeing Sasuke, _Itachi added to himself.

He'd always kept tabs on his brother. It gave him a perverse sense of pride to see how far the boy had gone in his quest for power. When he'd read the report on the battle in the Valley of the End between Sasuke and Naruto, he practically shook with excitement.

He now read it every night before going to sleep.

But after their encounter in the woods almost six years ago, Sasuke had disappeared. Itachi knew that he hadn't killed the boy. He was sure that he would know when his own brother was dead.

Finally, he heard a rumor about Sasuke in Wind Country. After that, sightings of the teen became regular occurrences. However, Sasuke never stayed in one place long enough for Itachi, Orochimaru, or even his friends from Konoha to find him. And he never left any clues to where he was headed next.

It amazed Itachi that the younger man seemed to disappear and reappear at totally random times.

Or _seemingly _random.

It never occurred to the elder Uchiha to compare the recent raids on their hideouts to the sightings of his brother until Kisame looked at his map for directions one day.

"Look here," the Mist nin had said. "You said that someone saw that brat two weeks ago, right? Well, last week Aitou or Zannen, can't remember which bitch is which, raided the safe haven in the village three towns over."

Itachi almost kicked himself for not seeing the connection sooner.

The elder brother took the opportunity to look back at Akatsuki's files on the known movements of the Suna hunters. For the past three years, whenever Sasuke would appear, one or both of the hunter nins had a mission near the village or town the Uchiha was seen in.

They were either chasing Uchiha Sasuke or he was somehow helping them.

Since Itachi couldn't see how helping the two hunters would aid Sasuke in his quest for power, the Akatsuki member was sure that they were after his brother.

_But why would _Suna _hunters be after Sasuke? _Itachi wondered. _He's a missing nin from Konoha. _They _should be the ones after him._

It only took a few moments' thought before Itachi realized that the hunters were probably under the orders of the Kazekage. Although marriage to the female demon vessel had calmed him, Itachi was doubtful that Gaara was 'calm' enough to let the boy who'd attacked him go. Sasuke wasn't as…personable…as Naruto and probably pissed the redhead off on many different levels.

"You have two new properties," Itachi noted, bringing his attention back to the matter at hand.

"Those belong to the dowry my wife's family gave me," the noble said. "I haven't had time to set them up into the system yet."

Itachi noticed that his brother was seen in a village near one of the new properties the week earlier. If the hunters kept with their normal pattern, they would appear in two days, at the earliest.

"While I look at this, why don't you tell me anything of interest?" Itachi commanded absently.

The noble wracked his mind for any gossip or news he'd heard. He'd do anything to get back into Akatsuki's good graces. It was a miracle that he was still alive when one of their members was taken from one of _his _safe houses.

"Well?"

The noble jumped.

"The Kazekage's wife is pregnant again," he said.

"I know that," Itachi said. _Too bad that her brats aren't demon vessels, also, _he thought. _Akatsuki will need as much demon chakra as possible for the jutsu to work. _(1)

"She's expecting twins."

The dark-haired man straightened from his position and stared at the noble.

"Really?"

The noble nodded.

"Hn."

"The sister of the Kazekage's wife was banished from Suna," the noble remembered, since they were on the subject of Suna.

"Hn…"

"They say that Temeki-san is furious with Kinabuhi-sama," the noble added, he could tell that the news intrigued the man since he didn't tell him to shut up. "She's in Konoha with the Kazekage's blood sister as a handmaiden. The rumor is that she hates the Kazekage's family now."

Itachi made a few new marks on his map and stored the noble's information away in his mind. The time was getting close and he knew that they'd have to gather the demon vessels any way they could.

Exploiting a feud between sisters would definitely be a tactic he could use to capture both Kina and Gaara.

A cold half-smile graced Itachi's lips as he prepared to leave. He looked over at the noble and frowned. The dark-haired missing nin debated whether or not to share the next piece of information with the noble, but finally decided that it might shock a reaction from the man.

_And it's fun to mess with people's brains, _he laughed silently.

"There is a flaw in your network," he said. "People have gone missing from your safe houses and have reappeared dead. Suna reaps the rewards of all of this."

"W-what?"

"The Kazekage knows where most of your safe houses are," he elaborated. "And he's sending his hunters to collect the bounties. Pretty soon, the others will catch on and they'll be after you."

Itachi almost smiled at the frightened man, but again the disgust he felt at the man's weakness kept him from doing so.

Instead, he just turned around and left.

00000000000000000

Hyuuga Tenten looked around the living room and shuddered. Everything in the place was pink. From the curtains to the couches, hell, even the _coffee table _had pale pink lace on it.

_What is with Shikamaru's mom and pink?_ she asked herself.

"Frightening, isn't it?" a voice said from behind her.

The weapons mistress jerked and turned around to see a very tired and dirty looking Temeki walk into the room.

"Temeki!" she said, automatically placing her hand on her stomach. "You scared me."

The light blue-eyed kunoichi frowned and stared at her friend. "You're losing it then, Tenten," she said. "Either that or I'm getting better."

"That might be it," Tenten laughed. "But Neji and Naruto snuck up on me the other day, too. Neji says that my attention span has shortened considerably."

"Considering your situation, I'm not surprised," Temeki murmured. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I came to visit you, but Nara-sama said that you were missing," she said.

_Actually, she said that you went on another idiotic rant about Suna and disappeared for a week, _Tenten admitted to herself.

The other woman nodded and smiled at Tenten with understanding in her eyes. The Suna kunoichi knew exactly what her hostess thought of her.

"I was on a mission," she told her friend. "I just got back."

"A mission?" Tenten repeated. "For Suna?"

"Of course. I may have argued with my sister and knocked the Kazekage into a wall, but I'm still a Suna shinobi," Temeki answered.

"Oh."

"Why don't I clean up and then we'll go out for some food?" Temeki asked.

Tenten's stomach chose that moment to let out a huge growl and she nodded sheepishly. "Sounds good. You can tell me what exactly is going on between you and Sakura." She noticed the slight blush on the other woman's face and she instantly perked up at the possibility of new gossip.

"Tenten?" Temeki said. The kunoichi looked up from her perch on the couch and stared at the girl standing in the doorway.

"Yes?"

"Congratulations on your pregnancy. I'm sure that Neji's beside himself with joy."

Tenten smiled. Although she hadn't told anyone but Neji and Tsunade, she knew that Temeki would notice the difference right away. She was almost as skilled a medical shinobi as her sister Kina.

"Arigato, Temeki-chan."

"Dinner's on me. You're not craving any French toast, right?"

Tenten laughed at the oblique reference to Kina's now famous craving for the breakfast food. If she thought that it was odd for Temeki to joke about her sister—the sister she was currently supposed to hate—the weapons mistress kept the idea to herself.

"No," she smirked. "For me, it's miso ramen."

"Naruto must _love_ the new you."

"Go ahead and bathe," Tenten shooed her out of the room. She laughed again at Temeki's parting shot.

"We're _not _going to Ichiraku!"

00000000000000000

Kisame knelt in the center of a large room. Seals covered the floor and bandages marked with Tsunade and Jiraiya's blood wrapped around his arms and were tied to the walls of his prison. He didn't know how long he'd been there, but he only had minimal feeling in his arms. The position he was in forced his legs to become numb on their own.

The Akatsuki member looked up as the door opened and revealed two of his captors. Even though they wore the masks of ANBU warriors, he recognized the blonde hair of the kyuubi vessel. However, he frowned at the pink-haired woman who accompanied him.

"We've come to ask you a few questions," the demon brat asked. He stood in front of the bound man and placed his hands on his hips. The woman simply walked around the seals and stood behind Kisame.

"Why should I answer any questions of yours, _gaki_?" Kisame spat. (2)

The blonde merely tilted his head and looked at his partner through the slits in his wolf mask. "Ikasu?" he prompted.

Kisame felt the woman, Ikasu, place her hands on the exposed skin of his wrists. He shuddered at the feel of her callused fingers on his skin. It had been a long time since a woman had touched him. The Konoha ANBU smelled of lemons and mint. He loved lemonade.

"If you don't answer the questions Nonki has for you, then I'll have to hurt you," Ikasu said.

"As long as you mean it," Kisame growled seductively. "But I can think of a few other places you can put those hands of yours, Ikasu-_chan_."

Ikasu stiffened and clamped her hands painfully on his wrists.

Nonki noticed and shook his head. "You really shouldn't provoke her, Kisame. Women can be scary when they're angry."

"Wimp," the shark-like man smirked.

"Masochist," Ikasu murmured from behind him.

"Yes, ma'am," he agreed.

"I'm tired of playing around," Nonki decided. "Where are the other Akatsuki members?"

Kisame shrugged. "Here and there."

"Where was the last known location of your partner, Uchiha Itachi?" Nonki demanded.

"And why should I tell you?" he replied. "And he's not my partner. We were just heading in the same direction."

"And which direction would that be?"

"Eat shit and die, kitsune," Kisame snarled. He then spat on the floor in front of the blonde.

The man knelt so that his wolf mask was on the same level as the missing-nin's face. He then shifted his gaze to the woman standing behind Kisame and nodded.

Kisame felt pain radiate from his hand and run up his right arm. He looked at his right hand and saw the glowing green hand of Ikasu. Her index finger lightly rested on the outside of his wrist.

"I just severed the tendon of your extensor carpi ulnaris muscle," she softly whispered into his ear. "You won't be able to change your grip on that huge sword of yours unless it's repaired within the next hour. _If_ you're lucky." (3)

"Where was the last place you saw Uchiha Itachi?" Nonki asked again.

Kisame looked at the ANBU member and growled. They might destroy all of the muscles in his arm, but his punishment would be worse if Itachi found out that he'd given Konoha any information.

Nonki sighed and nodded again at his partner. Ikasu silently prayed for strength and placed her hand on the inside of Kisame's wrist. She concentrated her chakra into a needle-like point and touched her first two fingers to his skin.

He barely kept in his scream of pain as his hand and forearm convulsed.

"That was your pronator quadratus," she said. "You won't even be able to lift a pair of chopsticks without having them wave around like a flag. Now answer our questions or you'll never get the use of your hand back." (4)

Ikasu hated this part of being in ANBU, but her mission was clear. If the Akatsuki member refused to give them information this way, then they had no choice but to go to Plan B. And both Nonki and Ikasu dreaded Plan B.

Plan B was dangerous for everyone involved.

But Kisame remained silent.

His hand twitched a few times before Nonki stood up and looked at Ikasu.

"He won't answer. We'll have to bring in Ibiki next time," he said. "Make sure that his injuries don't bleed internally and let's go." As the kunoichi followed his orders, the blonde looked down at Kisame and frowned.

"Just because we didn't get any answers this time doesn't mean that we'll stop trying," he told the other man.

"Just because you keep trying doesn't mean that you'll succeed," Kisame answered. "I'll get out of here and once I do, you and that pink-haired bitch are dead."

He watched as the two ANBU walked to the door. As they opened the portal, Ikasu turned around and muttered one last sentence.

"Don't worry about your hand twitching, it's only the nerve endings in your fingers dying."

The metal door slammed on the ANBU and Kisame swore to get his revenge against the Konoha kunoichi.

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An hour later, the metal door opened again. Kisame looked up with pain filled eyes and barely made out a female figure dressed in a dark color and a mask with a single kanji on it.

The kunoichi reached out a hand and the missing nin suppressed a groan as her hand came into contact with his aching wrist. He expected the rest of his muscles to be torn, but instead felt the cooling touch of an experienced healer. When the medic was done, he looked up and asked one question.

"Why?"

"Because you can give me what I want," answered the husky voice of the kunoichi.

"And what's that?"

The woman knelt down and removed her mask. Kisame recognized the features of the Kazekage's sister-in-law. But he was shocked by what he saw in her eyes.

They were filled with hate and anger.

And they were Sharingan red.

"I want to meet Uchiha Itachi."

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A/N: **

/rubs hands together in glee/

First Kina and now Tenten…a little baby boom in Naruto's world, he he he…wonder who's next?

Things are coming along…

**(1) **It's not common knowledge that Gaara and Kina's daughter is also a demon vessel. It's not common knowledge that _Kina _is a demon vessel.

**(2) **_Gaki _means 'kid' or 'brat.'

**(3) **Ain't anatomy fun?

**(4) **Nothing is worse for a sword master than losing control of his sword hand. And as one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Village of Mist, Kisame needs his muscles intact.


	9. Codes and Secrets

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

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Chapter 9: Codes and Secrets

Kisame leaned against the smaller form of Zannen as they leapt from branch to branch. They traveled for more than an hour at the fastest speed they could manage from the ANBU stronghold that once held the Akatsuki member.

No sound passed between the two except for the occasional instruction from Kisame concerning their destination.

His prolonged incarceration caused his limbs to become numb and forced him to rely on the Suna hunter for support. Although this went against his every instinct, Kisame allowed her to help him. He still couldn't get the sight of the woman with Sharingan red eyes out of his mind's eye.

_How is this possible? _Kisame thought. _The only Uchihas left are Itachi and that brat, Sasuke. And Kakashi has the Sharingan as well, but he wasn't born with it._

He looked at the woman from the corner of his eyes and frowned. There was a large chance that what he saw was a genjutsu, but it sure as hell didn't feel like one. Kisame stretched his chakra behind them and knew that no one followed them.

"I'm not going to lead them to the Uchiha, Kisame-sama," Zannen said quietly, correctly guessing at the man's thoughts.

"Why are you helping me?" the shark-like man asked. "Do you _want _to be a missing nin?"

Zannen smiled ruefully underneath her mask. _If only he knew…_she laughed at herself.

"They won't suspect me," she murmured. "I'm supposed to be in the Country of Wave."

"That's not what I asked."

"I already told you what I want," Zannen replied. At Kisame's signal, she stopped in front of the mouth of a large cave. He sat heavily on a stone near the entrance and pulled his ring out of his pocket.

"The sky is velvet dark tonight," he muttered.

Zannen looked at the man as if he was insane. She already knew that he was, of course, but he was always more of the "I'll murder anyone bloody" type of insane than the "I'll talk utter nonsense about the sky" insane.

A shadow separated from the others in the cave and walked towards the duo.

Zannen immediately palmed three shuriken in each hand and watched as the shadow stopped in front of Kisame.

_Genjutsu, _she realized.

"The moon is bright, though," the shadow told the man. "God can see every sin committed this night."

Kisame smirked at the shadow-man and lifted his ringed hand to his hair. "What sins can you commit when you cease to exist? But a spirit knows that furred creatures and birds of prey all hurry home before the rising sun," he said as he pulled on his ear.

"However, a man must stand naked under her golden rays," the shadow whispered.

"The gods do not begrudge a man his walking stick," Kisame stated, glancing at Zannen. "Not when the staff was culled from his neighbor's tree."

"It depends on whether it was done with the neighbor's knowledge or not."

"My neighbor has not yet noticed the loss, but the wood itself is agreeable enough for my sensitive tastes."

The shadow was about to reply when Zannen finally lost her temper.

"Okay!" she shouted. "I get it…God, your codes are lame. I am _not _a walking stick." She took off her mask and stared directly at the shadow.

"I am here, not as a hunter nin from Suna, but as a woman looking for answers," Zannen snarled.

The genjutsu dissolved and the shadow-man stepped in front of the girl.

"And what makes you think that you will find what you seek?"

Zannen's hand tightened on her porcelain mask as she fought back her hate. She looked down for a moment before speaking.

"Because," she said, looking up at the man. "You are the only person who might have the answers."

The man stepped back at the sight of red eyes that had three comma-like shapes around the pupils. His own eyes narrowed as he confirmed that there were no genjutsus placed on the girl. She was exactly what she seemed to be.

"Come inside," he murmured, gesturing to the cave. "And you can tell me how you came to possess the Sharingan, Yawa Temeki."

"I can only repeat what has been told to me," Temeki replied, walking past Kisame. "But you can at least tell me the true name of the man from whom I gained these eyes, Uchiha Itachi."

00000000000000000

"I don't know how this could have happened," Morino Ibiki said.

He stood in the middle of a large room. Broken seals were on the floor along with the bandages that once held the escaped prisoner. Tsunade and an ANBU she called Taizen stood next to him. The three turned around as two more ANBU rushed in.

"How good of you to join us, Ikasu, Nonki," Tsunade said, without malice or sarcasm.

"What happened?" Nonki gasped. Ikasu just stared at the place Kisame should have been and quickly swept the room with her chakra.

"I would have thought it was obvious," Taizen said.

"How did he get out?" Tsunade growled to herself.

"He had help," Ikasu said, suddenly. She walked over to the bandages. She knew that the inscriptions on them were written with the blood of both Tsunade and Jiraiya. There was no way that they could be removed without either one of the Sannin from knowing.

Unless…

"Can't you sense it, Godaime-sama?" she asked. She ran her hand over the bandages.

Tsunade did the same and frowned. "The chakra signature is familiar," she whispered. "And the only living people who know the jutsu to negate the binding are me, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru…"

Morino Ibiki was shocked. "You mean?"

"No," Nonki said. "This chakra's different."

"Whoever it was knew exactly what to do," Taizen said. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. "Do we pursue?"

"No," Tsunade said. "We don't know who we're up against. Cut Kisame out as a loss and relocate everyone in this compound to Site 4. Ikasu, I want you and Taizen to cleanse each and every room of chakra."

The two nodded and began writing cleansing jutsus on the blank scrolls they carried. Nonki immediately took out a few of his scrolls and passed them to his partner.

"Nonki, Ibiki, you two are in charge of transferring what scrolls we have here to the new Site," Tsunade continued. "Nonki, choose two ANBU teams to take care of the prisoners kept here. When everything is finished, blow the compound and flood the tunnels. I want this place to be unusable for the next fifty years, got it?"

"Hai, Godaime-sama," the four elite ninja barked before disappearing to do their jobs.

Tsunade turned back to the bandages and frowned. She knew that Naiou was good, but she never expected him to be _this _good.

_All I can do now is trust him, _she realized. _If you turn on us now, Naiou, I'll kill you myself._

With that vow, she turned to leave and wait for more news to reach her office.

Once there, she looked at the worried figure of Shizune.

"Get Nara Shikamaru in here," she ordered. "I want to know everything Yawa Temeki's been doing for the past three weeks."

00000000000000000

Temeki followed the two men deeper into the cave. She still had her Sharingan activated, so when they stepped through what looked like a solid wall, she didn't hesitate and walked confidently after them. Her skin tingled as she experienced the strange sensation of a transportation jutsu.

She was surprised to enter a cozy living room decorated in shades of mahogany and forest green.

Twin couches faced each other with a low coffee table between them. Dark green tiles lined the floor in a sort of path that led to the room's fireplace while the rest of the floor had dark brown tiles. The living room had an archway that led to the dining room and two other doors were on either side of the fireplace. Temeki assumed that the kitchen was beyond the dining room.

Kisame sighed and walked through the door on the left of the fireplace. Temeki soon heard the creak of bedsprings and saw that the tall man had fallen face first onto a rather large bed. She walked into the room and frowned as Kisame's snores filled the silence.

"He shouldn't sleep like that," she said. "He'll tear the muscles in his hand. I just fixed it, I'm not doing it again." Temeki walked over to the dozing Kisame, turned him over, and, using a strip of cloth, made a sling for his right arm.

Itachi watched from the doorway with a half smile on his face. Not that anyone would notice since his cloak covered half of his face anyway.

Temeki turned from the bed and nearly screamed when she saw the life-like jaws of a shark mounted on the wall opposite Kisame's bed. Light glinted off of the shark's teeth and Temeki walked closer for a better look. Her eyes widened as she counted at least twenty tiny thimbles nestled in between the shark's teeth.

"Thimbles?" she whispered. "What the fuck?"

"Hey, hey," Itachi murmured. "Watch your language."

The woman turned toward the man and walked out of the room. Itachi closed the door on his fellow Akatsuki member and sat down on the couch. He gestured for Temeki to sit across from him, but she declined.

"Well?" Itachi asked.

Temeki looked at the man and frowned. "Well, what?" she echoed.

"How did you get the Sharingan?" he sighed.

"It happened a couple of years ago. One minute I'm doing my job and the next my eyes are burning a hole in my head," Temeki answered, describing how it felt to activate her Sharingan for the first time. "Suddenly everything's in slow motion and I can see what moves my enemy's gonna make next! On top of that, I can remember jutsus that other people do, but that I've never personally learned."

"At first, I didn't want to bother Kina or Gaara about it, so I asked around," she continued. She collapsed on the couch across from Itachi and stared at the man. "I thought that only you and your brother were left with these things," she accused.

_That's what I assumed as well, _Itachi thought.

"What are your parent's names?" he asked. "I know that you and Sabaku no Kinabuhi are not blood related. So who are your parents?"

Temeki knew that this question would come up and she already had the answer. "I never knew my mom," she said. "Dad wouldn't talk about her."

"Then who's your father?" he asked.

"We didn't have a last name," Temeki said, frowning as she tried to remember the details. "We moved around a lot and Dad was always a bit paranoid, y'know? Like something was gonna get him."

Itachi was getting impatient. "Who was your father?" he repeated.

"He died when I was ten," Temeki started. "I don't really remember his name."

"Could you describe him?" Itachi ground out through his teeth.

"Sure," Temeki said. "He had black hair—like yours only glossier—and it was kind of spiky. He was kinda tall. And he wore goggles all the time."

Itachi was only half listening until she got to the goggles part. "Goggles?"

"Yeah," she answered. She played with the mask in her hands. "He didn't want anyone to stare at him funny."

"Why would people stare at him?"

"He only had one eye."

Itachi was silent as his mind ran through the possibilities. _The age is about right, _he thought. _But I thought that he died a long time ago. (1)_

"Are you sure you don't remember his name?"

Temeki stared at Itachi for a long time. He could tell that she wasn't telling him everything, but didn't push it. Whether she was an Uchiha or not, Yawa Temeki was still the easiest pawn in capturing Kina and Gaara.

"I remember one person calling him Obi-something," she admitted.

"Obito?" Itachi supplied.

Her brow furrowed as she seemed to think about it. After a while, she nodded and stood up. "Yeah…I think that's it."

Itachi sat back as thoughts whirled around his head. His face remained passive, but his eyes followed Temeki as she wandered around the room.

_This is very interesting…_he thought.

**

* * *

A/N:**

Okay…stuff coming up and stuff. Short chapter, I know…sorry!

Later!

**(1) **Let's pretend that Obito is older than Kakashi by two years, okay? I don't know if he really was, though.


	10. Of Smoothies, Betrayal, and Darkness

**Disclaimer: **Naruto is not mine and Kisame does not collect thimbles…to the best of my knowledge.

**

* * *

**

Chapter 10: Of Smoothies, Betrayal, and Darkness

Temeki placed her hunter mask on the coffee table and looked around. If she didn't know any better, she'd think that the place belonged to a normal person instead of a couple of S-rank criminals.

Everything was clean and neat and obviously well cared for.

She stopped next to a side table and was surprised to see pictures on it.

Most of them were group pictures. She recognized Kisame, Zabuza, and Raiga of the Seven Shinobi Lords in one of the pictures. She didn't know who the other four were, but since it was a group picture, she figured that they were the other Swordsmen. A group picture of several Akatsuki members was placed in the center of the table.

Temeki only had a glimpse of five people standing around a bloody deer before a series of framed pictures on the wall caught her eye.

These weren't photographs like the others. Instead, they were sketches.

The first was a sketch of a young looking boy with dark hair that spiked up in the back, but had long bangs that covered some of his face. The boy looked angry at something or someone. His eyes were dark red and his left hand looked like it was holding some sort of energy ball. Whitish-blue streaks zigzagged across the page from his hand and Temeki assumed that the streaks were meant to be lightning.

Standing behind and to the right of the boy was an older looking teen, who looked exactly like the boy. Only his dark hair was long and held down in a ponytail at the back of his neck. He had red eyes also, but had two scars under those eyes. He wore a black cloak with red clouds on it and a bored expression on his face.

Temeki looked at the corner of the sketch and noticed a series of black lines. She knew instinctively that the lines were actually the artist's signature, but she couldn't read the characters.

She looked at the second sketch and nearly gasped at what she saw.

The same boy from the first sketch stood on a peaceful lake. His eyes were still red, but black marks covered most of the exposed skin on his body. But what surprised Temeki the most was the fact that the boy was covered in blood.

Floating at the boy's feet was a blonde boy wearing an orange jumpsuit. Temeki could see that the artist had placed the blonde at an angle so that the hole in his chest could clearly be seen. Blood pooled in the water around him.

The left hand of the boy standing on the water was covered in blood.

Temeki looked at the corner and saw the same black lines that were in the first sketch.

She looked at the third and this time _did _gasp at what she saw.

It was a portrait of Gaara.

But this wasn't the Gaara that she knew. This Gaara looked to be about seven or six years old. He didn't have the 'love' kanji on his forehead and there was an innocence in the boy's green eyes that made Temeki's heart ache for him. Gaara stared out of the picture and the artist managed to capture the pain, hope, and loneliness in them.

She didn't have to look in the corner of the sketch this time.

The last sketch wasn't colored in like the others. Instead, it was done in black and white. The artist's skill was evident in the way the picture was shaded and drawn.

Temeki recognized the blonde and the dark haired boy from the first two sketches from their features alone. They occupied the left of the picture. The blonde, she knew that it was Naruto, was drawn looking over his shoulder at something. His hands were in the Master Seal and the boy was smiling broadly at someone.

The dark-haired boy, Temeki knew that it couldn't be anyone other than Sasuke, stood in the foreground in a battle stance. For once, his eyes weren't red. This time, they were fathomless black.

On the right side of the picture were two Konoha ninja. One had a scar across the bridge of his nose and hair that was up in a ponytail. He had a kunai in his hand and looked like he was yelling at someone.

The other was a thinner, taller man with whitish hair that stood up at an odd angle. He had on a jounin vest and his forehead protector was tilted over one eye. He held one hand in front of his masked face and rested the other on his lean hip.

In the very center of the picture was a girl. Her clothes and hair seemed to be caught in a whirlwind as she stood with her hands behind her back. Where the men in the picture were drawn from the chest or waist up, the girl's whole body was sketched in. This made her seem smaller and more fragile than the others.

It was the look in her eyes that Temeki was drawn to.

They looked full of pain and hope.

They were like Gaara's eyes were in the previous sketch.

She looked at the black markings in the corner and turned to Itachi.

"Did you draw these?" she asked, awe evident in her voice. (1)

"No," the Akatsuki member smirked.

"Then who did?"

"That's a question that will have to be answered later," Itachi said. He stood up and walked through the dining room. Temeki followed and soon found herself in a large chrome kitchen.

"The Kazekage's Mansion doesn't have a kitchen this fine," she whistled.

"Kisame likes to cook."

"…"

"I know."

"…"

"Can you cook? Because I'm hungry and Kisame swore to kill me if I touched his stove," Itachi admitted.

Temeki was confused in a big way.

These two were Akatsuki members. They were criminals and missing nins. Why were they acting…_human_?

"Being evil all of the time is draining," Itachi said, reading her mind and leaning against a counter. "We needed a place to relax. Every Akatsuki member has one. Kisame and I just decided that we could share ours. It's no big deal."

She looked on with something akin to horror as Itachi deactivated his Sharingan, revealing dark, emotionless eyes. He reached into a drawer and took out a pair of glasses and put them on.

"…"

"I know," the missing nin repeated.

"…"

_Those are really thick glasses, _she thought to herself.

"You might want to deactivate your Sharingan, too," he said, calmly. "Keeping it for too long ruins your eyesight."

Temeki deactivated her Sharingan and stared as he opened the fridge and looked at its contents. He held up a package of butter and looked at the woman.

"You boil this, right?"

"No!" Temeki said, disgusted. She automatically took the butter from the man and shoved him away from the refrigerator with her hip. "Go sit at that table and don't touch any food that isn't a fruit. I'll cook. You talk."

She looked at the food and sighed. Nothing she could really cook was in there. Thinking that she'd have better luck with the freezer, Temeki noticed a few aluminum pans that were covered in cheesecloth and smiled when she found a pan of uncooked lasagna and a small casserole. She picked the pans up and placed them on the island in front of the stove.

"Well?" she asked as she looked over the chrome and wooden monstrosity that was Kisame's oven.

"Well, what?" Itachi smirked as he peeled an orange.

"You know who my father was," she said, turning the dial to preheat the oven.

"Yes," he answered simply. "I want a smoothie."

"Touch the blender and die," a voice growled from the doorway.

Temeki turned and saw a bare-chested Kisame standing there. His arm was still in the sling, but his gaze was laser sharp as it cut towards the Uchiha.

"I'll do it," she said, grabbing the orange from Itachi. She took a few more as well as the necessary ingredients from the refrigerator. When the timer for the oven dinged, she competently placed the two pans in and set the timer for twenty minutes.

"You might want to change it to thirty and adjust the temperature," Kisame grunted. "They've been frozen for a while."

She nodded and adjusted the setting. "Do you want a smoothie, too, Kisame-sama?" she asked.

"Strawberry-banana for me, Temeki-sama," he answered. The two Akatsuki members noticed that the woman's head snapped up at the title and that she blushed a bit.

"You don't have to call me that," she said. "I'm no lady and I'm not of noble blood."

"Yes you are," Itachi corrected. She stared at him and blinked when light reflected off of his glasses. Although she hated the man with every fiber of her being, Temeki couldn't help but laugh a bit at the sight of him with glasses perched on his nose.

"What?" he asked.

Kisame smirked and picked up a small basket of strawberries. He stood next to Temeki at the island and placed two blenders next to each other. Their hips bumped together and the shark-like man had to stifle a groan at the feminine feel of Temeki.

_Down boy, _he scolded himself.

"She's laughing at your glasses," he said distracting himself from the female who had invaded their home. "Don't you want a smoothie?"

Temeki nodded. "Just add extra to yours, Kisame-sama," she said, not looking up from her work on Itachi's smoothie. "I like strawberries."

_I wonder if she tastes like strawberries, _Kisame thought.

"What do you mean that I have noble blood, Itachi-sama?" she asked as she checked on the casserole. Since it was smaller than the lasagna, it would cook faster.

"You might as well call me Itachi-niisan, Temeki-chan," Itachi said. He was about to stand and watch the contents of the blenders swirl around, but a growl from Kisame kept him in his seat. "Your father was a cousin of mine."

"So I _am _an Uchiha?" she asked, shock covered her features.

"Yeah," he answered. "Your father was Uchiha Obito. I don't know how, because he was supposed to have died when he was a teenager."

"Really?" she asked, placing a tall glass in front of Itachi.

The man frowned at the drink until Kisame sighed and placed a strange crazy straw into the glass. A tiny, chibi version of Itachi hung onto the straw's side—red eyes and all. Itachi's face literally glowed as he sipped the smoothie through the loops of the crazy straw.

Temeki looked at Kisame and raised her eyebrow as if to ask, _"Is this _really _the cold blooded killer, Itachi?"_

Kisame just nodded and placed another glass in front of her. They were silent for a while, except for Itachi's slurps of his drink. Kisame stood and took the casserole out of the oven, placed it on a cooling tray, and sat down in his seat.

"Now that I think of it though—how the hell did that get there?" Itachi said, wiping orange smoothie off of his chin and forehead. "Anyway, the Clan never had a funeral for Obito-san. The hospital said that the accident along with the surgery made it impossible to have one. I didn't understand it at the time. I mean—he'd be in the casket. We didn't _have _to see him."

Kisame noticed a bit of strawberry smoothie on her lip and absently wiped it off with his finger. Temeki stilled and fought her revulsion.

_He's a slimy shark, _she told herself. _But I _have_ to do this. Be nice!_

Itachi noticed the blush on Temeki's cheeks and felt the unease radiating off of the girl. He smirked and bit back a sarcastic remark. Although he said that a person couldn't be evil _all _of the time, it didn't mean that he wasn't evil _most _of the time.

_Be nice! _Itachi warned himself. _If I'm going to use her, she needs to trust me._

Kisame just stared at the woman's lips and sucked the strawberry concoction off of his finger.

_God I'm horny…_he thought.

"Surgery?" she asked.

"You know that Hatake Kakashi has the Sharingan as well, right?" Itachi asked. When she nodded, he continued. "The accident that killed Obito-san also caused Hatake to lose his eye. The surgeons at the hospital replaced his eye with Obito-san's." (2)

"But my father died ten years ago. When I was ten," Temeki said. "Sakura-chan said that Kakashi-san had his Sharingan for longer than that."

"That's why it's so strange," Itachi said, finishing his drink. "But there's no other explanation. Your father had only one eye; Obito-san gave his eye to Hatake. There's no other way for you to have the Sharingan except surgery and you don't have any scars around your eyes. And now that I think about it, you kind of look like Obito-san's mother. The only thing that doesn't make you look like a total Uchiha is your eye color."

"What's wrong with my eyes?" Temeki asked, her feminine pride hurt.

"Nothing!" Kisame yelled. When the other two simply stared at him, he blushed a bit and looked down at the table. "They're very pretty."

Temeki froze…Kisame was _flirting _with her?

_Use him! _A low voice commanded in her head. _Remember what you have to do and use him!_

Everyone was silent until Itachi stood up and walked over to place his glass in the sink. On the way back, his cloak brushed against one of the blenders and the machine exploded. Kisame pushed Temeki down onto the floor and turned the table over them. He protected her by covering her body with his own as pieces of metal flew around the room.

When everything settled down, Kisame and Temeki looked cautiously over the top of the overturned table. Itachi was pressed against the wall, his arms and legs in weird angles. His eyes were wide behind the lenses of his glasses and sharp pieces of the blender's blades pinned his cloak to the wall.

Temeki let loose a howl of laughter and smiled at Kisame. The man was stunned by the smile and laughed himself.

"It's not funny!" Itachi yelled over the laughter. They looked at him again and just laughed harder.

"Machines don't like Itachi-sama," Kisame explained.

"I can see that," Temeki answered.

"I told you that it's not funny!" Itachi said again as he tried to unpin himself. Kisame just shook his head and unbuttoned the other man's cloak. Itachi immediately pulled free of the fabric and slipped on a piece of plastic that used to be the blender's base.

When he fell on his ass, a strange sound came from his lips.

Temeki pointed at the man and laughed harder. "You SQUAWKED!" she roared. "Like a big, old chicken!"

Kisame laughed too and finally Itachi joined in, although his ass hurt like hell.

Temeki was seeing an entirely new side of the two Akatsuki members. She just hoped that she didn't get too attached to them.

It would only make killing them that much harder.

00000000000000000

After dinner, they sat in the living room, staring at the fire in the fireplace.

"I have to get back," Temeki said, breaking the silence. "Temari and Shikamaru are going back to Suna soon. I have been ordered to return with them." Disgust and discontent rang through her voice.

"Why are you angry?" Kisame asked. "I thought that you would be happy to return to Suna."

"It's because of your fight with Kina, right?" Itachi said, glasses still in place. At Kisame's confused look, he continued. "You weren't around to hear about it, I guess. But it seems that Temeki-chan and Kina had some sort of argument that led to Temeki-chan leaving Suna."

"Forced to leave is more like it," she muttered.

"What did you argue about?" Itachi asked.

"I confronted her about the Sharingan," Temeki admitted. "She claimed to know nothing about it, but I could tell that she and Gaara knew something. You know that I'm not really related to her at all, right?"

"That's common knowledge," the shark-like man commented.

"How did you become the foster sister of the Kazekage's wife?" Itachi wondered.

A small smile graced Temeki's features. "That's something that no one ever thinks to ask," she said. "Kina just claimed me as her sister and everyone accepted it. No questions, no comments, no worries."

"You resented her for that," the elder Uchiha noted. "The power she has to make people accept whatever she says."

"She can make anyone do anything," she laughed without joy. "She could make a man stab his own wife and be glad to do so."

"You've seen this happen?" Kisame asked, shocked. Sabaku no Kinabuhi was known throughout the Hidden Villages as one of the most peaceful kunoichis that existed, right next to Hyuuga Hinata. No one had ever really seen her fight and no one outside of Suna knew that she had a temper.

"Kina's dark side is worse than Gaara's," she answered. She stared into the flames and remembered a hundred different instances of Kina's ruthless behavior. "She only lets it out during missions, though. She's got this side to her that she doesn't show anyone."

"It's violent…almost demonic?"

She turned towards Itachi and frowned. "Yeah," she said. "But if you're thinking to shock me, don't. I already know about Kina's demon. I was there when she first turned into her half-demon form."

"Really?"

"Naruto was hurt because Kina was Gaara's wife. They wanted Gaara, but hurt Naruto," pain echoed in the woman's voice and her fists clenched. "And all she wanted to do was be with Shukaku. He was hurt and she didn't even care."

"Enough about that brat," Kisame said. He was smart enough to know that Temeki had deep feelings for the kyuubi vessel, but stupid enough to think that he had a chance with the Suna kunoichi. "How did you become Kina's foster sister?"

"I told you that I don't remember much past waking up on the border between Fire and Wind…but that's not exactly true. I remember my dad and learning to fight. But there's a whole space of time that's missing—parts are just blank."

_Someone's messed with her memories, _Itachi realized. (3)

"When I found out I had the Sharingan, I researched about it. I even asked Naruto," she picked up her hunter mask and sighed. "Kina noticed and asked me why I was researching."

"You don't live with someone for six years and not notice when they're not telling the whole truth. Even if the person is a ninja," she said. Temeki stood up and walked over to the sketch of Gaara. "Kina has a habit of scratching her shoulder when she's hiding something or nervous for some reason."

"When I asked her about the time when she saved me, she said something about her and Gaara finding me in a trader's tent about to be sold as a slave. But all I can clearly remember is being on a horse heading for Konoha," she traced the young Gaara's black lined eyes and sighed.

"That was when Gaara introduced Kina as his wife during the Summer Festival," she finished.

"So you don't remember anything from before that?" Kisame asked.

"Nothing specific," was the answer.

"What prompted your argument with Kina?" Itachi questioned.

"I overheard something…" she looked hesitantly back at Itachi and wondered how he would react to her news. "Something about Uchiha Sasuke."

Itachi managed to keep his body from jerking at her statement and angled his glasses so that they would only reflect the flames of the fire.

"Hn…"

"She knows where he is," Temeki said. "She's always known. Something about her powers lets her know his location anywhere on the continent. Naruto and Sakura never stopped looking for him…and Kina knew where he was."

She turned back to the picture of Gaara and punched the wall next to it. Thin lines appeared on the plaster around her fist and she stared at her abused knuckles.

"Naruto suffered again because of her," she whispered. "I confronted her and Gaara about it and about the Sharingan. She let it slip that she knew who my father was…who my family was. She _knew_!"

When she turned to the two sitting on the couch, hate, rage, and pain radiated off of her. "Do you have any idea how it feels to have the person you thought of as your sibling totally betray you like that?" she asked.

"She knew that I could only do so much with my Sharingan without someone to teach me, to _guide _me, to show me how to use it! Kakashi was out of the question because he _couldn't_ know about me. She said that Sasuke was too deranged; power-mad and so hell bent on killing you that he _wouldn't_ help me. The only thing left for me was to look for you!"

"She forbid it," Itachi concluded.

"She forbid it," she spat out. "When I refused, Gaara threatened to make me a missing nin. Kina started yelling and so did I. The next thing I know, I'm being blasted through the door with a chakra beam."

"They must have placed guards on you to make sure you didn't go looking for me."

She smiled and shook her head. "Kina and Gaara know that I would just kill them. Suna isn't so powerful yet that it can afford to loose good shinobi. The Kazekage simply solved that problem by giving me mission after mission."

"As Zannen," Kisame said.

"That mission he gave me and Aitou to capture anyone in that safe house was the biggest piece of luck I've ever had," she laughed.

"Why did you take so long to free me then?" the shark-like man grunted.

"Would you have let me go with you if you hadn't been so desperate?"

He could only shake his head at her assessment. "No, I wouldn't have."

The dark haired woman turned to her newly found cousin and glared at him. "Teach me," she demanded. There was no pleading in her voice, only determination. "Teach me the secrets of the Sharingan."

Itachi was silent for a few more moments. He then stood up and looked at the sketches on the wall. He stared the longest at the one of himself and his younger brother. Temeki was about to say something to persuade him—she would never _beg _the Uchiha—when he spoke softly.

"And what will you do with its power if I teach you?"

"I'll make my _dear sibling_ pay," she said without hesitation.

"You may not have known this, but Akatsuki needs your foster sister," he replied.

A sly smile ghosted over her features. "Do you need her or her _demon_?"

Itachi turned to the woman and an identical smile graced his lips. "You are a smart one, Temeki."

"If you teach me, then I'll give her to you," she bargained. "Once you've done what you need to do to the demon inside her, I want her."

"If she survives the process, then she's yours," the dark-haired man agreed.

"Itachi-sama," Kisame whispered. "Shouldn't you talk to _him_ before you promise that?"

"He only wants the demon's chakra," Itachi answered. He looked into Temeki's eyes as he said this, but noticed that there was no surprise in the ice blue orbs—only confirmation of facts that she already knew.

"She might not survive," the shark-like man repeated.

"I don't care," Temeki coldly stated. "Even if she's dead I can make Suna suffer—I can make the Sabaku Clan suffer. Just give me her body."

"You need to deliver her to us first."

"No," she told Itachi. "You need to teach me first. Everything you know."

"I can teach you everything I know but that doesn't mean that you'll be able to use it," he chuckled.

"Teach me anyway," she insisted.

"It's a long and difficult process," he said. "Obtaining the full power of the Sharingan isn't easy."

"Obtaining _anything _of worth is never easy," Temeki replied, smiling up into the Uchiha's dark eyes. She absently tapped her finger against the glass covering the sketch of the two brothers. "That's something Sasuke could never understand. If he wanted something, then he wanted it _now._ It was his quest for the easy route to power that led him to Orochimaru in the first place."

"Can you look into my brother's mind so clearly then?" Itachi asked, amused and intrigued. He didn't notice that Temeki spoke in the past tense when discussing his brother.

She shrugged and looked at the dark, angry eyes of the sketched Sasuke. "It's not that hard to see. From what everyone's told me about Uchiha the younger, he's not as complex as everyone thinks he is. He sees you as a challenge he has to overcome. But since he's set the bar so high, he doesn't see his accomplishments for what they are."

"The kyuubi brat's methods are better than my brother's," Itachi agreed. He nodded at the sketch of Sasuke standing over the wounded blonde. "One justu at a time, small pushes…he gathers strength to his legs before he makes a huge leap. Sasuke just assumes that he'll land on the other side without preparing beforehand."

"Huh?" Kisame asked, not understanding the metaphor.

"The walls Naruto places in front of himself aren't any weaker or thinner than the wall Sasuke placed in front of _himself_," Temeki said. "They're just closer to the ground than your brother's."

"So I'm a wall now?"

"You'll always be a wall that he has to overcome," she whispered. Itachi's eyes narrowed at the statement. He'd told Sasuke something similar the day before the massacre.

He relaxed when she added, "That's what Naruto told me."

"What the fuck are you guys talking about?" Kisame asked.

The two stared at him and the shark-like man was forced to endure the blank glares of two Uchihas. Ice blue and fathomless black pinned him to his seat and had him questioning his sanity in opening his mouth around the two.

"Will you teach me or not?" Temeki demanded, never taking her icy gaze from Kisame. The man was practically squirming in his seat and she found it all very amusing.

"Yes," Itachi answered. He kept his gaze on his partner and felt a similar amusement course through his veins. He'd almost forgotten how fun it was to make the other man uncomfortable. He broke the contact and looked down at his younger cousin.

"You have two months to learn everything I have to teach you."

"Why two months?" she asked.

"Because that's how long we have before Kinabuhi gives birth to her children. We cannot use her until the brats are free of her body and her chakra levels are normal again."

Temeki nodded. "I have to return to Suna—"

"No."

"But…"

"You will remain here until I feel you are ready," Itachi said.

They both knew what he really meant was: _"You're a prisoner until I can trust you."_

"They'll suspect something," she protested.

"I'm sure that you'll think of a suitable excuse," he replied.

"Where will I sleep?"

Kisame brightened up and said, "You can stay with me, Temeki-sama."

Itachi noticed her delicate shudder and smirked. He walked over to a third door that she hadn't noticed by the framed sketches. He opened the door and waved the woman in.

"You will stay here," he said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Temeki echoed. The door shut and she fell onto the soft bed. The room was the same size as Kisame's. It had enough space for the bed, a dresser and mirror, and a short wardrobe. She walked over to another door and found a small bathroom. She sighed with relief when she saw the shower in the corner.

_I'm so glad that I don't have to share a bathroom with them, _she thought.

00000000000000000

"Well?" Kisame asked, looking up from the glass of wine he was holding.

"She'll do," Itachi answered before entering his own room.

00000000000000000

Three masked figures gathered in a darkened room.

The younger male stood before a large scroll. His eyes moved quickly as he memorized the jutsu in front of him. He'd read it before, of course, and practiced it, but it never hurt to look at the actual text once more. He knew the jutsu was dangerous, but he was determined to master the technique. It wasn't necessary for the mission, but it certainly would help.

The only female present sat on the floor and meditated. Out of everyone in the select group, she had the least amount of chakra in reserve. That didn't mean that her chakra was on the meager side, but compared to her counterparts, she was sorely lacking in the department. She knew that she needed to increase her reserves by at least one-fourth. She was confident that she could at least manage that feat before she was needed.

The eldest of the group sat at a small table with his hands hovering over a clear orb. Images flickered within the crystal and sounds echoed through his mind. His plans were coming along. The pieces were almost all in place. Soon the trap would spring.

Seals covered three of the four walls and most of the floor. The wall where the younger man was studying was covered with shelves that held books, maps, and scrolls. Weapons of all shapes and sizes hung on the wall opposite that one.

The third wall had a series of seals written in the blood of everyone allowed into their little hideout. The curving script crept up the wall in an elegant archway. On either side of the arch, burned into the wooden wall, were the symbols of each of the five major Hidden Villages (along with a few of the more minor ones—such as the Hidden Village of the Star).

The fourth wall had a large map on it. The map was that of their continent. It showed the different countries and locations of every Hidden Village, major or not. The map was marked with strange characters that only a select few could read.

When the space within the archway began to glow a soft lavender color, only the eldest of the trio looked up from his work. The other two were so intent on their own pursuits that they didn't do more than grunt greetings to the leader of their team.

The woman stared at her subordinates and sighed. She walked to the map and wrote a few more characters onto it. She stared at the words she wrote through the slits in her mask and waited until she felt her three teammates behind her.

"Soon," she answered their silent question.

"When?" the younger man asked, impatient.

"The darkness must envelope and tempt him first," the eldest reminded the others.

"Is that wise?" the girl asked.

"No," was the answer. "But it's necessary."

"And if madness blurs his priorities?"

"Better he die in battle than in shame," the leader whispered.

The others nodded and returned to their individual tasks.

The young man stood in front of the scroll once more and ran through a series of seals quickly and competently. In the next moment, he was on the other side of the room. He had a brief moment of elation before he fell to the ground, exhausted.

"Guess I still need to practice that," he said.

The girl walked to her comrade and placed a glowing hand on his head. They both smiled at each other, even though their masks hid their smiles.

"Keep trying," she whispered and returned to her meditation.

The other woman shrugged her shoulders and removed a large sketchbook from the bookcase. Taking a pack of drawing pencils, she sat down and began to draw with short, competent strokes.

After an hour of complete silence, the eldest placed the orb in its chest and walked over to the archway. He used his kunai to slash his palm and pressed his bloody hand to one of the symbols burned into the wall. The archway glowed with a soft golden color and the man turned to his leader.

"Don't remain here too long," he told the others. "We can't afford to be missed."

The girl simply nodded from her position on the floor. The younger man just waved his hand distractedly as he read from another smaller scroll. The woman kept on drawing. When the man left, she let out a sigh and looked down at her sketch.

Two twenty-year-olds, a man and a woman, stood back to back, both staring in opposite directions.

The man had black hair that was long in the front, but spiked up in the back. He had a black shirt with a large collar that bared part of one shoulder. His face was turned so that both of his obsidian eyes were visible. His lips were drawn in a small frown, but there was a hint of a smirk in the slight tilt of one corner of his mouth.

A forehead protector with the symbol for the Hidden Village of Konoha rested on his brow. The leaf symbol had a dark line slashed through it.

The woman had long black hair that was caught up in a high ponytail. Where the man wore black, she wore a white backless dress. Like the man, her face was tilted so that both of her ice-blue eyes were seen. The smirk that was hinted at on the man's face was in full bloom on the woman's. In fact, the curl of her lip suggested that she was one second away from a full-blown smile.

A forehead protector with the symbol for the Hidden Village of Suna hung around the woman's waist and was tilted at a striking angle. The sand symbol had a dark line slashed through it, as well.

Two large glowing red eyes appeared in the sky above the couple. Two dark lines slashed across the page below the eyes and held the two figures underneath them. The metal plate of a Konoha protector held its place at the top of the picture. The slash across the symbol was the darkest line in the whole picture.

The red eyes looked down at the man and woman with contempt. Unlike normal eyes, these eyes had large dark three pointed Shuriken-like pupils that practically filled the entire iris. (4)

The woman stared at the scene she had drawn and almost choked. She shook her head and signed her name in the bottom right hand corner. The characters she used weren't kanji or even the strange ones she'd used to mark their map.

No…

These characters belonged to a country and a time she'd almost forgotten existed.

They belonged to a home she'd almost forgotten.

She slammed the sketchbook shut with more force than necessary and stared at the two still in the room.

"He's right," she said abruptly. "Time's up. We have to go."

The two nodded and walked through the archway after placing their bloodied palms on their respective symbols. Red light flashed through the room followed by soft green and then they were gone.

She hesitated for a moment before she took the sketchbook and placed her hand on her own destination. When the lavender light pulsed once, she walked through the archway.

Once the transportation jutsu was complete, she took the mask off of her face and sighed.

_I'll show the sketch to him, _she decided as she strode through the dark, dank basement of her home. _Maybe he can interpret it for me._

She quickly placed her mask into one of the many cubbyholes along the stone walls of the basement. At the bottom of the stairs, she placed her hand at the small of her back and, making sure she placed most of her weight on the heels of her feet, slowly made her way to the top of the stairs.

When she entered the hallway, she immediately bumped into someone.

"Have you seen the Kazekage?" she asked.

The maid bowed slightly and answered.

"He's been in his office for the past three hours. He ordered that no one disturb him."

She was already heading in that direction. "Thank you!" she yelled.

"You're welcome, Kinabuhi-sama," came the answer.

**

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A/N:**

Okay, yeah this one was lllooooonnnngggg! This chapter was a bitch to write. I scrapped at least 75 percent of what I originally planned for the Temeki and Itachi scene.

I almost deleted the scene in the kitchen…making those two appealing makes me hesitate to kill them, but it must be done! (I think…) But I couldn't think of another way for Itachi to tell Temeki who he believes her "father" is. And the rest was pretty serious as it was.

Firm believer in the balance of funny and serious…right here/points to self/

Well, later!

**(1) **I've seen pictures like the ones I described. They're not of any one particular picture. I'm sure everyone's seen at least a few like the ones I wrote about.

**(2) **I don't really know how everything happened. I'm just guessing from different things I've heard and read.

**(3) **Much like how Anko has parts of her past missing.

**(4) **The picture I just described doesn't exist…I just made it up, 'cuz it fit the story. But if someone with way more talent in drawing than I do wants to draw it, go ahead. Just send me a link of the final product, 'kay?


	11. Learning New Things

**Disclaimer: **Naruto is not my property…otherwise I'd have way more stuff and way less student loans to pay off.

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* * *

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Chapter 11: Learning New Things

Gaara sighed as he took another sheet of paper from the pile in front of him. The longer he was Kazekage, the taller the stack of paperwork needing his attention grew. And the worse the handwriting written on said paperwork got.

"You know I'd help you with all of that if I wasn't so distracted," a husky voice sighed.

"You know I'd make you do all of this if you weren't so distracted," a baritone voice replied.

He didn't have to look up at the woman comfortably situated in the only corner of his office that contained a sofa to see the soft smile on her beautiful face. The redhead smirked affectionately for his wife. Although she had some trouble in the beginning of her pregnancy, as soon as she reached her third trimester, Kina's personality became as placid and unassuming as Shikamaru's.

Today she lay down on the sofa with her swollen feet up and a tattered old panda bear in her hands.

"I might have something that will interest you for more than ten seconds," he mentioned.

"You're not counting the last few seconds that we've been talking, are you?" she asked, turning her head to stare at her husband.

"No," he chuckled. He waved a scrap of paper in the air. Kina's purple eyes widened at the signature on it.

"What's he done now?" she asked eagerly.

"'_From the desk of Team 8 ANBU Captain Mukade,'"_ Gaara read from the letter in his hands. (1)

"'_Kazekage-sama, I must insist on being compensated for the loss of my undergarments. As mentioned in the mission report from last week, our medic ran out of bandages and requisitioned the undergarments of both my second-in-command and myself. Normally I wouldn't bring a complaint of this nature to your attention, but these were my lucky undergarments; the last issued in Suna since before your marriage. Please consider my request for monetary compensation for the emotional trauma dealt to me by the loss of my lucky undergarments.'"_

Kina laughed and snorted during Gaara's reading. He even went through the trouble of imitating the deep, slightly whiny, and pompous voice of the ANBU Captain. His next sentence was uttered in his usual baritone, but made her shoulders shake harder with laughter.

"If he took better care of his team, then the medic wouldn't have to go to such extremes to bandage their injuries," he said. He smoothed out the wrinkled paper and barely kept himself from mentioning the fact that telltale tracks of tearstains marred the parchment. That bit of information would likely cause his wife's water to break from the force of her laughter.

The woman in question still had her hand on her belly as she sighed out the last of her chuckles.

"That man never ceases to amaze me," she sighed. "That has got to be the most neurotic ANBU in the world."

"When it comes to his boxers at least, Kina-chan," Gaara agreed. "ANBU are neurotic by nature—and hunters are even more so."

"Is that a jab at my work habits, Panda-kun?"

"Maybe."

A comfortable silence settled between the couple and they simply enjoyed each other's company. After fifteen minutes, the only sounds in the room were from Gaara's pen scratching across parchment and Kina's soft breathing as she fell asleep.

He looked up when someone knocked on the door of his office. "Come in."

The door opened to reveal his brother Kankuro, as well as his sister Temari and her husband Shikamaru.

"Temari," he smiled as he stood up to hug her. He hadn't seen her since the now legendary argument between his wife and her foster sister, Temeki. The blonde kunoichi was slightly surprised at her brother's warm welcome, but quickly smiled and hugged him back.

"Gaara," she whispered. "How are you?"

"I'm good," he answered. "We're good. Where's Temeki?"

The question caused the smiles on the faces of the three shinobi to disappear entirely.

"That's the same question that we've been asking ourselves," Temari replied.

Gaara's face became a blank mask as he walked back to his desk and sat down. He looked at his family and frowned.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" he asked coldly.

Shikamaru, perfectly aware of the fact that familial welcomes were now over, stepped forward and placed a sealed scroll on the Kazekage's cluttered desk.

"That's a report from the Hokage, herself," the brunette said. He stood in front of his brother-in-law and looked him straight in the eyes. "She's told me that if I see Yawa Temeki again, I have the authority to kill her."

The announcement caused the Suna siblings to jerk in surprise. The woman did nothing to incur the wrath of Konoha—to their knowledge.

"And does the order stand for all Konoha shinobi, or just yourself?" Gaara asked.

"The order is for me alone," he admitted. "But it is only activated the moment you declare her a missing nin."

Gaara leaned back in his chair and pinned the man with a steely green glare. "She has done nothing to mark her as a missing nin," he informed the Nara.

"She is suspected of committing several crimes in Konoha," Shikamaru stated.

"Suspected. Not guilty," Gaara shot back.

"She's been missing for more than a month," Temari said. "Nara-kaasan told us that she left while we were setting up our house. She was shouting obscenities about Suna." (2)

"That might have been when I sent her to the Country of Wave on an infiltration and assassination mission," Gaara said.

"You sent her on a mission?" Temari asked, shocked.

"She's still a Suna shinobi," Kankuro said, speaking for the first time.

"You're the one in charge of the missions desk these days, aren't you Kankuro?" Temari accused.

"She's damn good at her job," the puppet master defended his decision. "No matter her differences with Kina, Temeki will do her job and finish her mission. No matter the cost, she finishes her missions. She doesn't do things halfway—not anymore. You know this, Temari."

Gaara's pale eyes looked from one sibling to the other as Temari was forced to nod her head at Kankuro's description of Temeki's _nindo _philosophy. (3)

"But she's never taken this long to finish a mission before," the blonde muttered.

"That's because she's always had me with her as back up," a husky voice interrupted from the corner sofa.

"Kina-chan!" Temari said, finally noticing the presence of Temeki's foster sister.

The dark-haired woman pushed herself up into a sitting position and slowly stood up. The huge bump that was the temporary home of her twins stretched the fabric of her kimono and changed her center of gravity. Temari and Shikamaru's eyes widened as she walked over to stand by her husband with a distinct wiggle to her steps.

(At least, Kina kept insisting that it was a wiggle. Her first child, Lilith, said that her Mama _waddled. _Kankuro once remarked that it was more like the lumbering gait of a large bear and quickly got two black eyes for the statement. Gaara—being the smart man that he is—kept his mouth shut on the matter.)

"You're looking…um, radiant," Temari lied. Even though Kina didn't look too horrible, the sheer size of her abdomen caused her to look like some sort of insect and the way she walked was…well, the truth was, the blonde couldn't think of _any _way to describe it.

"Shut up," Kina snapped, suddenly angry with the skinny blonde.

_Look at her, _Tsubakiri, her demon, snorted in Kina's mind. _Standing there in all of her skinny glory. She can even see her feet, the bitch. I bet that she doesn't salivate at the smell of cinnamon._

_Probably not, _Kina answered the eagle demoness. _In fact, she's almost glowing with health. I just can't wait until she—_

Kina cancelled the stray thought as she narrowed her eyes and focused on her sister-in-law. Her frown changed into a frighteningly sweet smile that caused both Temari and Shikamaru to step back in fear. It was never good when the purple-eyed woman's eyes lit with unholy glee. Much like how they were lighting up now, actually.

"Say, Temari-chan," she crooned. "Have you been feeling tired lately?"

"How did you know that?" Shikamaru questioned. "We actually got here two hours ago, but we couldn't see you right away because Temari went to sleep the moment we reached Kankuro's house."

The smile took on an edge that scared the shit out of the Konoha jounin.

"You might want to pay extra attention to what I do in the next month, Shika-kun," she softly whispered.

It took the Konoha genius exactly 0.23 seconds to realize what the other woman was hinting at.

"A-al-already?" he asked, shaken to the core. Temari and Kankuro simply looked on in confusion. Gaara smirked and held onto his wife's hand.

"Would you like to watch when the time comes?" Kina asked maliciously.

Temari's eyes widened as she finally caught on while Shikamaru fainted. Kankuro laughed and Gaara got up and offered his wife his chair. She sat down and placed her folded hands on top of her protruding stomach, a triumphant smile on her lips.

The smile vanished as she gave her husband a hard stare.

"Now what's this nonsense about making my sister a missing nin?" she asked.

00000000000000000

Light flashed against Temeki's closed eyes and caused her to groan. She stubbornly ignored the soft humming and pulled the blankets tighter against her shoulder.

"Ah, c'mon, Temeki-chan," Itachi cooed. "Time to wake up."

"I just went to sleep," she grumpily informed the deranged man. "Come back in three hours."

The dark-haired man chuckled evilly and stood at the foot of the woman's bed. "You did not just go to sleep. It's 5:30 in the morning, so rise and shine!"

Her response to that statement was to bury herself under her nice, warm blankets and curl up into herself.

"Wake up or I'll get Kisame in here."

Itachi frowned when that threat didn't goad more than a grunt from the sleepy kunoichi. Usually, she did everything in her power to keep the other man out of her room. His smile returned to his face when another idea came to him.

"I guess I'll just borrow your hairdryer from your bathroom," he chuckled.

"Go 'head," Temeki's voice called from her cocoon, muffled by the blankets. "I have the electronics store on speed dial ever since you fucked up the music system."

His eyes narrowed at the reminder of the evil machine that thought that it would be fun to spit out every disk placed in it like shuriken—all aimed at the elder Uchiha.

"Fine," he huffed, grabbing the end of the blankets. "You asked for it!"

With that statement, he pulled on the blankets with all of his strength. Unfortunately, he also accidentally grabbed the futon underneath the blankets. So, when he pulled, the mattress came with them and knocked him over.

Temeki finally sat up when she felt a huge jolt and looked around.

"Why is my bed on the floor?" she asked, confused. She was _not _a morning person…at least, not until she had a hot shower.

Muffled screams and the fact that a large lump under her legs kept kicking persuaded Temeki to stand up and lift the futon off of the floor. She placed it back onto the box spring of her bed and turned to look at Itachi.

"Serves you right for trying to wake a girl up when she's not ready," Temeki smirked.

The elder Uchiha lay sprawled on the ground. His hair was a mess, his glasses hung crooked on his face, and he had the imprint of the futon manufacturer on his cheek.

"Today's special," he pouted playfully. "I'm gonna show you what the Mangekyou Sharingan can do."

Temeki's body stiffened painfully as her brain finally registered the meaning of his sentence. She was vaguely aware of the sly smile on his face as he noticed her stillness.

_Let him believe that it's excitement, _Sasuke's voice rang through her mind. _Don't let him see your fear and anger._

"Get out," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "I need to bathe."

Itachi lazily stood up and walked over to the doorway. Temeki's voice stopped him.

"Who will you use as the…_example_ in today's presentation?"

He chuckled and answered, "You know who."

When the door shut behind him, Temeki turned and punched her futon. She ignored the sound of the box springs breaking and walked over to her shower. Stripping quickly and making sure that no spying jutsus were in place—_stupid Kisame_—she stepped into the hot spray.

She'd been with the two Akatsuki members for more than a month and in that time she felt her chakra doubling in power and stamina. She was extremely tempted to turn deception into reality. She could forget everything and remain with the two men.

If she was this strong and learned so much in a month, what else could she learn in a year, two years?

The only thing that stopped her were the memories of her foster sister and the young woman she met on her second day as Itachi and Kisame's _guest._

**_FLASHBACK_**

Temeki silently followed Kisame down a series of tunnels. She realized that the duo's home lay deep within the earth and that they used transportation jutsus to enter and exit the place. After a few more meters, they entered a large cavern. It was lit by phosphorescent lichen and was about as large as the dojo in the Kazekage's Mansion back in Suna—which meant that the cavern was _large._

A waterfall poured from the furthest wall and fed a clear pool. Stones and rocks were placed here and there, providing cover or seating, depending on the situation. Traditional weapons lined the wall near the entrance and first aid equipment lined the other.

"Itachi-sama wants us to warm up while he gets the…ah…_equipment _needed for your Sharingan training," the shark-like man informed her.

Temeki nodded and immediately began to stretch out. Once she was limber enough, she ran at Kisame. He intercepted her attack with his uninjured hand and the two began sparring.

She finally managed to pin down the slippery bastard when she heard the sound of slow clapping echoing throughout the chamber. When she looked up, she found Itachi standing there with another woman by his side.

Temeki stood and narrowed her eyes at the newcomer.

The woman looked like she was around twenty years old. She was about as tall as Temeki, if not a bit taller. Full dark lips pouted below a small nose and a dark eye gleamed with an unidentifiable emotion from beneath messy bangs. She was tanned and fit, but her most striking feature was her long hair. The other woman's bangs weren't black like the rest of her hair. Instead, they were pure white. The woman slowly tucked the strands behind her ears and Temeki kept herself from reacting.

Despite the black bandage that covered her right eye, the Suna kunoichi could see the white line of a scar that started above her eyebrow, slanted down over her eye, touched the corner of the woman's lips, ran down her chin and ended at her collarbone.

"Don't look so surprised," Itachi said. He walked forward, pushing the woman in the back to get her to walk with him. "We need someone for you to practice the techniques on. Kisame won't do it and I sure as hell won't."

"Who is she?" Temeki asked.

Kisame waved his hand and snorted. "Who knows?" he answered. "We found her in the desert years ago. She suited our plans so we took her after we bound her de—"

"Enough, Kisame," Itachi sternly ordered. He locked gazes with his partner and Temeki noticed that his Sharingan was activated. The two seemed to speak silently to each other before the taller man looked down.

"Yes, Itachi-sama."

"You didn't ask her name?" Temeki wondered.

"She doesn't speak our language," Itachi admitted.

Temeki looked at the woman and found that she was already being watched and measured. When the dark eye met her own ice blue ones, Temeki realized that the emotion in it was the strange mix of rage, vulnerability, fear, and determination of a prisoner.

"What do you call her then?"

Kisame grinned, his good humor restored. "Shark-bait," he answered.

"You wish," Itachi remarked. "We just call her Ana. It used to be _Anata_, but it got too troublesome to say it in the middle of a spar." (4)

"All of the Akatsuki members have access to use Ana whenever we need to train," Kisame explained. "Too bad the Leader forbids us to use her whenever we have _other _needs."

Temeki's face registered her disgust and Itachi just shook his head.

"Akatsuki is above rape," Itachi reminded the man. "That's for the lower masses."

"What happened to her eye?" Temeki asked suddenly, eager to leave the topic. She gestured to the black bandage and the scar.

"Sasori did that when we first captured her," Kisame provided. "He kept screaming nonsense about noise and not being able to breathe. So he slashed her with his puppet."

"Sasori?" she asked, confused.

"Another member," Itachi said, bored with the conversation. "Do you want to learn how to control your Sharingan or what?"

Temeki slid into a battle stance and activated her bloodline limit. She didn't miss it when Ana's eye widened in shock, recognition, and a bit of relief. The Suna nin understood the first two emotions, but was thrown by the third.

_What does she have to be relieved about?_ Temeki wondered. That was the last conscious thought she had for a while that didn't have to do with training.

Itachi took her through exercises to train her Sharingan before he started to perform jutsus. He told her to watch carefully and then perform the jutsus she copied from him. She didn't realize that her target was Ana until Kisame turned the blue-eyed kunoichi from her position in front of Itachi to face the other woman.

At first, she was hesitant—the jutsus Itachi ordered her to copy were powerful ones that were created to kill—but Kisame just leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Don't worry. It takes a lot to hurt the bitch. Go ahead," he whispered, lightly licking Temeki's earlobe.

It was the action more than the words that had Temeki performing the water dragon jutsu on Ana.

When the water receded, Ana still stood there, her arms crossed in front of her and her clothes torn from the water pressure, but she was relatively fine.

The rest of the day continued along the same vein until Itachi called a halt.

"Kisame will take you back to the house," he said, picking up a semi-conscious Ana. "I will join you after I take this one back to her cell."

Temeki felt a surge of uneasiness as the elder Uchiha walked away. Something about the woman reminded her of Kina. The reason hit her like one of Sakura's punches.

_Her eye was purple, _Sasuke whispered in her mind. _Ana's visible eye was purple._

The shade matched Kina's eyes perfectly.

_Who are you, Ana-san? _Temeki wondered.

**_END FLASHBACK_**

Temeki felt cold water on her back and turned the shower off. She dressed quickly and went into the kitchen. Kisame was there, but instead of the usual breakfast, he handed her a piece of toast.

"A big breakfast will only end up on the floor when you see the Mangekyou," was his answer to the silent question in her eyes.

Temeki nodded and slowly ate the toast as they walked down to the training area.

Itachi was already there with a quiet and already beaten Ana. When Temeki noticed the other woman's state, she intervened.

"Shouldn't I heal her injuries first, Itachi-niisan?" she asked, using the title the elder Uchiha told her to use.

Itachi nodded and motioned for her to heal Ana.

She walked over to the girl and sat her on a rock. She knelt and began healing her many bruises. Temeki kept her eyes focused on the woman's lap where her hands lay. She was surprised when the tanned hands began a series of signs. They weren't seals, but they were familiar to the Suna kunoichi nonetheless.

They were the hand signs Kina taught her and the same ones they used when they communicated with each other when on missions.

'I don't know why I feel this way, but I think you can understand me,' Ana signed.

Temeki kept on healing her, but let out a small sound that could be an affirmative.

'Good,' Ana said.

Temeki glanced behind Ana and saw that the two Akatsuki members were discussing something. They both had their backs to the women, so it must be important if they went through the trouble of making sure she couldn't read their lips.

Taking the chance, Temeki quickly signed back.

'How do _you _know this sign language?' she asked.

'The question is how do _you _know it?' Ana questioned. 'It's from my homeland and you are definitely not from my homeland, Uchiha Sasuke.' (5)

'I learned it from my foster sister,' Temeki answered. 'How do you know who I am?'

'My eyes do not lie to me,' she replied. 'Who is your sister?'

'Yawa Kinabuhi,' Temeki fingerspelled the name.

'Kinabuhi,' Ana repeated. 'Is that her true name?'

'No.'

'What is it?'

Temeki noticed that the men were done talking and quickly finger spelled Kina's real name.

'You knew her from before, didn't you? Before you came to our lands,' Temeki signed.

'Yes.'

'They're coming soon; Kina will be here soon. Just bear the pain for a few more weeks.'

'If it means seeing the sun again, I will bear anything,' Ana answered.

Temeki nodded, then stood and roughly brought Ana with her.

"I finished patching her up, nii-san," she said. "Are you going to show me these techniques of yours or what?"

00000000000000000

"You did well," Itachi said. He and Temeki were carrying an unconscious Ana back to her cell. Kisame went ahead to make lunch.

"I don't understand why I'm helping you," she mumbled. She desperately wanted to go to her room and cry. Ana had only screamed for a few seconds, but the sound held several days' worth of pain in it.

"I know I usually lock her up myself," he explained. "But the woman needs another bath and since you're here and a female, we decided that you'll do it."

"We?"

"Akatsuki."

"Oh."

They stopped at a wall and Itachi placed his hand on it. The wall opened and they brought the girl into the room. If Temeki expected a bare room, then she was disappointed. In fact, Ana's room was better than hers.

"She's been with us for six years," Itachi said, placing the woman on her bed. "Things are easier if she's comfortable. Just place your hand on the wall and it will let you out. It will only recognize you or me." Temeki nodded and barely moved when the Uchiha walked out the door.

A sound from the bed caused Temeki to turn around. Her eyes widened as Ana sat up and began taking off her clothes.

'How are you able to do that?' she signed. 'You were in Itachi's _Tsukuyomi_. He tortured you for seventy-two hours!' (6)

Turning, Ana smiled at the younger woman and gestured for her to follow. Temeki followed and saw a deep pool of water.

'Tsubakikan allows me to recover from it quickly,' Ana explained. 'Among other things.' (7)

'Who?' Temeki asked as she took off her own clothes and stepped into the bathing pool. Fast recovery or not, the other woman would still need help bathing herself.

'My demon,' Ana signed. 'She's Tsubakiri's sister.'

Temeki let the information sink into her consciousness as she started washing the other woman's hair. When she was finished, Ana slid to the other side of the pool and stared at her.

'So tell me what my cousin has been up to these past six years?' she asked. 'Besides changing her name to Kinabuhi.'

**

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A/N:**

I totally didn't know what was going to happen after the end of the last chapter, but I got an idea from something my brother said to me. Then this chapter practically wrote itself!

So I have a new OC to write about and control. Yay! (Just hope I don't end up regretting it.)

I wrote a little sidefic to help me with my little writer's block. It's called "Only For You" and if you wanna read it, go ahead.

Okay, so review and stuff…later!

**(1) **_Mukade _means 'centipede.' Don't know why I named him this…but for those who've read my first story might remember the Captain of ANBU Team 8 as the one with all of those sandcastle boxer shorts.

**(2) **Temari calls Shikamaru's mom 'Nara-kaasan.' _Okaasan _is the formal way of saying "mother."

**(3) **_Nindo _means "way of the ninja."

**(4) **_Anata _means "you" in Japanese.

**(5) **They're speaking in American Sign Language.

**(6) **_Tsukuyomi _is the genjutsu Itachi uses when he tortures people for three days straight in the space of three seconds. It takes the Mangekyou Sharingan to do this.

**(7) **_Tsubakikan _is a name I made up from two words: _tsubasa _means "wings" and _kikan _means "mirror." So it means "mirror wings" or "wings of mirror."


	12. Unexpected

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. However, Ana, Tsubakikan, Kina, Tsubakiri, and all of Kina's children (including their demons) are all products of my own mind.

**

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Chapter 12: Unexpected

"What do you want, nii-san?" Temeki asked. She was irritated and embarrassed.

"I just wanted to know what was bothering you," he replied.

They sat at the kitchen table while Kisame made them a late breakfast. It was the day after Itachi showed her the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan and she learned that Ana was not only a demon vessel, but Kina's blood relative as well. Her head hurt from the new information and the pressure of hiding yet another secret from the men in front of her.

Not to mention a certain new development that heightened her uncomfortable position.

"Well?" the man asked, waiting.

"You really want to know?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know," was the calm answer.

"I don't think you want to know," she said.

"I want to know."

"I mean, you have Ana here so I though that you'd have _that _covered. But it turns out that you don't. Inconsiderate bastards," she rambled.

"Temeki," Itachi sighed. "What the _hell_ are you talking about?"

"What does she do then? She's been your prisoner for six years," she muttered to herself. "Don't you guys notice? Or are you too busy kicking her ass to think for more than two seconds?"

"Temeki!" Itachi shouted.

The woman finally looked over at the man and saw that he had an eyebrow raised arrogantly over his left eye. Behind him, Kisame held a frying pan over the stove and stared. She wanted to bash both of their brains in with the sizzling skillet.

"I STARTED MY PERIOD LAST NIGHT AND YOU DON'T HAVE A SINGLE TAMPON OR MAXI-PAD IN THE ENTIRE CAVE!"

Itachi's eyebrows immediately lowered over his eyes as he settled into a glower. Kisame jaw fell and he dropped the pan onto his foot.

"What do you want to do about it?" he asked.

"Go get me some!" she demanded.

"Kisame, go get Temeki some maxi-pads," Itachi ordered.

"What?" the taller man yelled. "I'm not going to some store and buy pads! You do it! Better yet, why doesn't _she _do it?"

"_She _can't do it because _she _doesn't want to walk around with toilet paper in her underwear!" Temeki shouted. She saw the men cringe at the description, but was too angry to be embarrassed by her over-share. "Besides, I can't leave this place anyway!"

"And that's why _I _can't go," Itachi said, calmly grabbing onto the excuse Temeki conveniently handed him. "I have to add Temeki-chan's blood and name to the transportation wall so that she can come and go as she pleases."

"But—"

"If you value your life, you will go to the nearest market and buy me some tampons!" Temeki interrupted.

"I thought you wanted pads," Kisame whimpered.

"Tampons are better for movement," Temeki ground out between clenched teeth. "Now do it or you find thimbles in uncomfortable places for the next twenty years."

At the threat to his thimble collection, Kisame ran out of the room.

Once his chakra was no longer in the house, she turned to Itachi. "Did you really mean it when you said you'd add me to the transportation wall or did you just say it to get out of the shopping trip?"

"Can't it be both?" he asked. He stood up and walked into the living room. Temeki followed. He stopped at the blank wall where she'd seen both Akatsuki members pass through on their way out of the house. When she tried, Temeki just got a sore forehead from banging it against the stone wall.

"Here. Cut your thumb and place your thumbprint in this corner," Itachi handed a silver blade to Temeki and watched as she did as he ordered. She placed her thumbprint next to two others and waited.

"That's it?" she asked.

"That's it," Itachi answered as he placed a thin line of his blood over her thumbprint. "To get back in, just enter the cave and place your palm on the stone that is shaped like a kunai."

"How will I know which one that is?"

"Use your Sharingan."

She nodded and then looked down at the ground. "I'm gonna take a shower," she said. "Call me when the idiot gets back."

Itachi nodded and smirked as the woman made her way to her room.

00000000000000000

Sakura let herself into her apartment and was about to go into the kitchen when she heard the sound of her shower turn off. Instantly on guard, she crept along the wall with a kunai in her hand. When a figure came out of the bathroom with a towel on his head, she pressed the tip against his back.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" she asked.

"Taking a shower?" he replied. The man pulled the towel off of his head and turned around.

"Sasuke!" Sakura said, dropping the kunai. "But what about Plan B?"

"They trust me now so they let me out," he answered, looking over Sakura's clothes. "Not to mention the fact that it's _that time of the month _for Temeki. They didn't want her around. Why are you dressed in a mini-skirt and halter top?"

"Do you get periods when you're Temeki?" Sakura asked in wonder. When he nodded, she got a far away look in her eyes. "That's amazing. I knew that Tsunade-sama came up with the transformation jutsu that was used on you, but I didn't know that the change was so complete. From a medical standpoint alone, it's a breakthrough. I wonder if that means that same sex couples could finally have children using their own bodies and genetic material?"

"Sakura," Sasuke said, a pained look on his handsome features. "Can we _not _talk about this? It's embarrassing enough."

"Why?" she asked bluntly. "You didn't mind when you were Temeki."

"I _did _mind," he corrected. "I just couldn't say anything about it. I know more about the female body and its problems than Tsunade and Jiraiya combined thanks to you guys. Personally, I rather would have gathered the information the way Ero-sennin does than hear you girls talk about everything."

"Oh. That explains why you were so red at Tenten and Temari's bachelorette parties," Sakura said, failing to keep a smirk off of her face. "Do you need to report to Tsunade-sama or Gaara?"

"That can wait until morning," he answered. Sasuke leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Now tell me why you're wearing a halter top and a skirt short enough that I can see your black lace panties the second you bend over."

"Hinata decided it was time to seduce Naruto," Sakura said, looping her arms around Sasuke's neck. He pressed her against him and she felt the cotton of her top become damp from the water still on his chest.

"You went with her to give her moral support, right?" he asked, nibbling her collarbone.

Sakura arched her neck and sighed. "Yeah. Me and Ino brought Hinata. Lee and Kiba brought Naruto. He was already wasted enough that Hinata felt comfortable hitting on him. But not so much that his performance would be affected. I let her borrow my Boots."

Sasuke stilled and looked into Sakura's emerald green eyes. He could practically see the capital 'B' she used to describe the footwear.

"Your Boots?" he asked. "The ones with the buckles and the ice-pick heels? The thigh-high ones? _Those _Boots?"

"Uh-huh," she said, kissing the side of his neck. When he sighed, she did it again and began moving him toward her bedroom. "Ino lent Hinata a pair of shorts that were too small for her and we convinced her to wear her mesh top without her bindings or an overshirt. She insisted on wearing at least ten different necklaces so that her nipples were covered, though. Mostly."

"Naruto is _so _getting laid tonight," Sasuke chuckled.

"He's not the only one," Sakura laughed and pushed him down onto her bed. The Uchiha didn't have a problem letting her call the shots for the moment.

When she proceeded to dance a small striptease for him, he smirked.

_Nope, _he thought as he caught the top she threw at him. _I have no problem with this at all._

00000000000000000

Kotetsu and Izumo sat in front of the Hokage's office. It was around six in the morning and already the pile of paperwork they had to shuffle through was up to their knees. Kotetsu was about to suggest a short nap when two ANBU appeared before them.

The pink-haired ANBU was easily recognizable and was becoming well known in the village as one of the more ruthless warriors of the group. With peers such as Kakashi, Genma, and the recent additions of Naruto and Neji, that was really saying something.

Although they weren't supposed to know which person stood behind which mask, certain members of the elite ninja class were recognized by their hair or mannerisms alone.

Ikasu was one such member.

The other figure was a new one to the assistants of the Hokage. New, but not unknown. The Godaime described this man to the smallest detail with the orders to comply with his wishes, no matter how odd they sounded.

The man stood next to Ikasu in the usual ANBU outfit given to Konoha shinobi. However, on his armguards lay at least ten shuriken each. His mask was smooth and had the symbol of Konoha painted in bold, thick strokes across it.

This confused the Hokage's assistants for many reasons, but the main one was the fact that almost _all _Konoha ANBU had masks that resembled animals and had beaks or muzzles worked into the white porcelain. Smooth, plain masks were more common for shinobi from Suna or Kirigakure, the Hidden Village of Mist.

"Naiou-san," Izumo said, breaking the silence. "Ikasu-san, what can we do for you?"

Naiou held up a scroll and tossed it to Kotetsu. The man caught it and felt a slight charge from the binding seal placed across the flap.

"You can take that into the Hokage's office and hop on one foot while making noises like a gerbil," Naiou replied in a deep voice. "Then you can throw the scroll into her wastebasket and set it on fire with a fire justu."

Kotetsu stared at the man and nodded. The Godaime _had _told them that Naiou's orders would be strange. He turned to do as ordered and noticed that the two ANBU disappeared.

Ikasu and Naiou landed on the ledge near Tsunade's office window in time to hear Kotetsu's gerbil-like gurgles and Tsunade yell out, "What the _fuck _are you doing, you maniac?"

They waited for the sound of the scroll hitting the wastebasket and the sound of flames burning the paper within it. The sudden silence from the blonde woman was all the confirmation the two ANBU needed to know their message was accepted. They disappeared again and headed for the Hokage Monument.

"The gerbil dance wasn't part of the code," Ikasu commented as they jumped up the mountain.

"No," Naiou admitted. "But it was funny, eh?"

"You've been hanging around Kina too much, baka," she murmured.

"You know you love me."

"Doesn't make you any less of a baka, you baka. Let's hurry," she said. "The others are probably waiting."

"Yes, dear," Naiou answered in a meek tone of voice that didn't fool his mate in the least.

00000000000000000

When they entered the dark room, the other three people in their team already occupied it. The two ANBU removed their masks and placed them on the empty pegs next to three other masks. They were all allies and friends here—disguises weren't needed.

"Sasuke!" Naruto said, clapping the raven-haired man on the back. "How've you been?"

"You're bright and cheery this morning, Naruto," Sasuke smirked. "Did you have a good night?" If it was his intention to embarrass the blonde, then Sasuke's plan backfired. Instead of a blush, the blonde demon vessel simply smiled and nodded.

"The best night of my life!" he answered.

"What happened?" Kina asked from her seat on a large fluffy chair.

"I let myself be seduced by the most flexible woman on the planet is what happened," Naruto replied.

"Hinata?" Kina guessed.

"Let?" Sakura repeated.

"Seduced?" Gaara whispered.

"Flexible?" Sasuke echoed.

Since all four questions came at about the same time, Naruto answered them in the order he heard them.

"Yes, it was Hinata. Alcohol doesn't affect me the way it does you and I'm not _that _dense. What else do you call it when a woman in an incredibly hot outfit gives you a lap dance or ten? And holy hell in a handbag, she's flexible!" Naruto tried to mimic what the Hyuuga Heiress had done but only managed to crack his back. "I mean, Sasuke, she is _flex-i-ble!_"

Quiet laughter filled the room for a moment before they all remembered their purpose in meeting today.

"So have you gained their trust?" Gaara asked the Uchiha.

"I wouldn't be here if they didn't," he answered. "The entrance to their home is right here." He marked the location on the large map that hung from one wall.

"What protection jutsus do they have in place?" Kina asked.

"Perimeter jutsus, traps, and the actual home is only accessible through a transportation wall," he said.

"Like the one we have here?" Naruto asked frowning. It had taken him and Jiraiya months to come up with the archway system they used. The transportation jutsu was almost instantaneous and was capable of covering the distance between Konoha and the Country of Wave without the traveler suffering from chakra depletion.

"Nowhere near as powerful, so don't worry, dobe," Sasuke murmured, adding the 'dobe' purely out of habit. "As far as I can tell, it only takes a person ten meters into the mountain the cave is in."

"As long as they don't copy me, teme," Naruto growled, inwardly glad that Sasuke was back to call him a 'dobe' once more.

"Who else lives in the mountain?" Kina wondered.

"All of the Akatsuki members live there," Sasuke supplied. "They live on different levels and have different 'homes.' Each apartment is shielded so that we can't sense each other's chakra unless we're in the tunnels that connect them to each other. Our apartment is near the entrance, I think. We hardly ever see any of the other members. But they all share their training grounds and _equipment._"

The others noticed the slight emphasis on the last word, but only Sakura looked at him and raised an eyebrow in question.

"They already have at least one demon vessel in their possession," he admitted. "They've had her for six years and use her as target practice."

"Oh, my god," Kina gasped. "That poor woman."

"There's more," Sasuke walked over to his foster sister and pulled two flat, folded pieces of paper from his pocket. "She told me to give this to you, Kina. I can't read the writing, but she said that you could."

Kina took the paper and started to cry when she recognized the script on it.

Gaara strode over to his wife and held her in his arms. "What the hell does it say?" he asked.

Kina was blubbering so much that no one understood what she said. They only caught bits and pieces as she continued to cry.

"…Ateh…can't believe…all this time…so sorry…should have known…can't…oh my god!"

_Shukaku, _Gaara asked his demon. _Can you find out what's happening from Tsubakiri?_

_I'll try, _the raccoon-dog demon said. He returned to Gaara's consciousness a few moments later. During those moments, Kina's wails grew in volume as Tsubakiri voiced her sorrow along with her vessel as she read the letter.

_Tsubakiri is as distraught as Kina, _he admitted. _Something about her sister and Kina's cousin._

Gaara turned to Sasuke with accusing eyes. "You know what this is about, so spit it out!"

"The woman they have is called Ana," he began. "They just call her that because she doesn't speak our language and they don't know her real name. She's a demon vessel like I said, but her demon is Tsubakikan, Tsubakiri's sister."

The other three stood in shock. Kina's crying continued, but started to die down.

"Ana also claims to be Kina's cousin," Sasuke whispered.

"There's no 'claiming' involved!" Kina spat, recovered from her emotions. "Ateh is my cousin. My older, blood cousin to be exact."

"Is that her name, Kina?" Sasuke asked. "Ateh?"

"Her name means 'aim' or 'hopes' doesn't it?" Sakura added. "It's nice."

Kina shook her head at the questions. "No, her name isn't Ateh. I just call her that."

"Why?"

"It means 'older sister' in my father's language," Kina admitted. "It's the same as calling her 'nee-chan.'"

"What does the letter say?" Naruto asked.

"_Mari," _Kina read, her voice shaking as she read the foreign script.

"_I know what's going on. When you disappeared, your brother tried everything to find you. You're dad tried, too. But it was like you just vanished. Then about four months after you left, I started getting dreams. They were like watching an episode of 'Naruto' only this time it didn't center on the blonde ninja. Instead it was about Gaara and his life in Suna."_

Everyone frowned at the mention of Naruto. Kina told them that she was from the continent across the eastern ocean. How could they know about Naruto?

"_When I saw a purple-eyed girl talk to the emo redhead, I knew it was you. I kept on dreaming about you and your new life. I didn't know if it was just my imagination or what, but it helped me deal with your disappearance. On the anniversary of the day you vanished, I went over to your spot. Remember the place you would go to sketch? When I sat there I found your sketchbook. I don't know how it survived a whole year, but it was clean and the pages inside it were in perfect condition. Then a bright light surrounded the area and the next thing I know, I'm being attacked by Sasori, Deidara, and Kisame."_

"What's 'emo'?" Gaara asked. The others shushed him and motioned for Kina to continue reading.

"_I heard a loud scream in my head and knew that I was a demon vessel like you. My demon introduced herself as the hawk demoness Tsubakikan. She said that she'd protect me and she has…mostly. I'm a prisoner of Akatsuki, but I'm sane and relatively safe. After I got here, the dreams I had of you stopped. But just knowing that we're in the same dimension again is enough for me to keep hoping that you'll come."_

"_Seeing Sasuke with Itachi here in the caves was a shock. I don't have the paper to explain everything, but Tsubakikan is able to see through the toughest disguises. I can turn it off and on, but it's easier to just keep it on when dealing with the sadistic bastards here. Anyway, Tsubakikan told me to try talking to Sasuke using ASL. I thought it was weird, but worth a shot."_

"_He understood me! And he said that he learned it from his foster sister, Kinabuhi. I knew that was the name you gave yourself here, but I had to ask for your real name to be sure. Mari, when he spelled your name, I wanted to jump him and hug him to death. But Shark Face and Bright Eyes were there, so I couldn't."_

Naruto stifled a laugh at the description of Kisame and Itachi, but remained otherwise silent. Sakura had a similar reaction, while Gaara and Sasuke just smirked in amusement.

"_Now pay attention to the next part, I'm a bigger 'Naruto' fan/freak than you and I have a clue about what Akatsuki wants. They need the chakra of nine demons to create a mega-demon of some sort. (Don't laugh at the mega-demon thing, I can't think of a better way to say it! I know you're smirking, Mari!) Apparently, this boss demon can open portals into different dimensions. I didn't get too far in the manga 'cuz my mom took my book money from me 'cuz my grades were dropping."_

"_Anyway, they need to gather everyone before the Winter Solstice…THIS YEAR! So be extra careful. I also overheard Bright Eyes talking (they still haven't figured out that I can understand Japanese, the tontos) and it seems that they need EVERY SINGLE ONE of the nine Akatsuki members to go through with the plan. Something about the rings that were given to each of them. Sasori and Deidara were sent to get Orochimaru's. They already have someone in mind to wear that ring and I think it's going to be your foster sister, Yawa Temeki."_

Kina stopped reading for a moment and stared at her husband and her friends. She knew she'd have to explain everything from the 'different dimension' thing to the 'Naruto manga' thing. But first, she had to finish the letter.

"_Great choice in naming that one, coz. Demon asshole power. Ha! (1) Anyway, counting myself and your friends, Akatsuki knows the locations of at least four of the nine demon vessels. I stress the 'at least' part. I've only seen my cell, the training area, and the hallways that connect them so I don't know if they have others hidden here. Just know that I love you and trust that you'll get me outta here."_

"_With all my love, Ateh Jocelyn."_

Kina finished and folded the papers back into their squares. She looked up at the expectant faces of Gaara, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. She sighed at them and started her explanations.

**

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A/N:**

Well? What'dya think? Good, bad? Review please!

**(1) **Temeki is from _teme _(asshole) and _ki _(power) in Japanese…_Yawa _(demon) is Cebuano.


	13. Ambushed

**Disclaimer: **The world and characters of Naruto do not belong to this poor college student.

**A/N: **Warning, I know next to nothing about Sasori and Deidara's fighting skills other than Sasori uses puppets (He has a scorpion one—hence the name. "Sasori" means scorpion) and Deidara uses clay that explodes.

Oh, and Sasori's from Suna while Deidara's from Iwagakure and ends every sentence with "un" or the English version of "yeah."

I'm getting most of my info from Wikipedia, so…yeah…

So, please forgive me if I mess up the way they attack and act with each other.

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Chapter 13: Ambushed

"…and that's when I woke up in Itachi's tent," Kina finished. She spent the past few hours explaining her world and the events that passed once she realized that a popular TV show and comic was real. She was afraid that they would hate her now. She deceived them all. She pretended not to know them when in reality she knew them better than they knew each other.

She knew their secrets, their thoughts, and their dreams. She knew their pasts.

Silence reigned for a few moments before Naruto chuckled. "So everyone in your world knows what a loser I am, huh?"

Sasuke smiled as well. "And everyone knows what a bastard I am…"

"And what a crybaby I was," Sakura added.

"It wasn't 100 percent accurate though," Kina said. "I read some of the manga and Sasuke was supposed to stay with Orochimaru for the full three years. Team 7 got a new member and Naruto left Konoha with Jiraiya for three years instead of the two years you left to train this time."

Gaara thought for a few moments and smirked. "It seems that not everything went according to your world's plan for us," he said. "You might have something to do with that."

"You guys don't hate me?" Kina asked.

Sakura shook her head and hugged her friend. "I think you're a bitch for keeping the secret for so long. But if you told us right away, we probably would have freaked."

"It's not like the idea of different dimensions is a new one," Naruto added.

"And it's only natural that some dimensions are linked to each other. Ours was linked to yours through the guy who wrote the comic," Sasuke finished.

Kina placed her hand against her heart and sighed. "Thank god, you guys don't hate me."

"We don't have to call you Mari, do we?" Naruto asked. "'Cuz I'm kinda used to Kina-chan."

"I'm used to it too, Naruto," she said. "We can use it as a code word though. In case one of us is replaced with a henge or something."

"I have a question," Sasuke said. "In Itachi's house, there is a set of sketches. They're of us. Well, me and my brother, then one of me and Naruto, then Gaara as a kid—"

"And one of you, Naruto, Sakura, Iruka-san, and Kakashi, right?" she finished for him. He nodded and she smiled sadly. "Those were the sketches I finished the day I disappeared. I don't know why, but I was on a roll that day. I just drew one picture after another. I got this feeling in my stomach when I finished the last one. And then I was here."

The quintet turned as the archway glowed with light and pulsed twice. A scroll flew through the portal and Sasuke caught it before it hit Naruto in the head.

"It's from Tsunade," Gaara said, recognizing the seal.

Sasuke opened it and read the information quickly. He looked up at Naruto and Sakura and frowned.

"Sasori and Deidara have been spotted leaving Otogakure and heading for Konoha," he said, anger finding its way into his voice. "The Hokage orders us to stop them—at any cost." (1)

"Why the sudden killing intent, brother mine?" Kina asked.

"Sasori was the one who scarred Ana-chan and took her eye," Sasuke growled.

Kina blinked as anger filled her soul. He forgot to mention the small fact that her cousin was now missing an eye.

"Bring back both of his eyes for me, Sasuke-niichan," she snarled.

"I'd be glad to," he replied.

"As the Kazekage, I request that you take their Akatsuki rings," Gaara said, his voice cutting through the murderous intent that filled the room. "Bring them back here. If they need the rings to succeed in their plans, then we need to take and hide as many of them as possible."

Naruto nodded as Sakura and Sasuke placed their masks on their faces. The Uchiha faced the weapons' wall and took a few new weapons—including a whip and several katanas. He pocketed some medicines into the pockets of his boots and pants. He took a few of Kina's specialized kunai and placed them in his weapons pouch.

Sakura followed his example and strapped Kina's latest invention to her gauntlet. It was a tiny crossbow that shot 5-inch darts at a target. It would be easier to use senbon, but the darts were specially designed to pierce through steel and were tipped with an extremely strong paralyzing agent. She placed the strap that held the darts on her other gauntlet and smirked.

Naruto studied the weapons for a moment before he decided on his usual choice: kunai and shuriken. His hand paused over a pack of senbon and, on an impulse, took those too. Senbon were more for Sakura, Shizune, or Genma—people who knew how to use them—but he had a feeling he would need them. Naruto wasn't one who ignored his feelings.

"I see that you've been indulging in your love for weapons making, sister," Sasuke noted as he looked at Sakura's new arm wear.

The brunette laughed and placed her hand on her stomach. "I had to do _something _while I was gestating," she murmured.

"How many new weapons did you make?"

"9."

"You'll tell me about them when we come back, right?"

"Hell, I'll show you how to use them and _where _to aim them to get the most damage. Just get the hell outta here, tonto," she laughed.

Naruto smiled at the sibling banter and fit his own mask over his face. He cut his thumb and drew a line that connected the Sound symbol to Konoha's leaf symbol. This ensured that they would be dropped off on the border between the two countries. It still wasn't an exact science, but the blonde was pretty sure that they would land near enough that they could find their prey.

Sakura and Sasuke cut their own thumbs and smeared Naruto's outstretched palm with their blood. After he mixed in his own, he slammed his hand onto the wall and shouted:

"_Jikoku Tabi no Jutsu!" _(Instant Journey Technique)

The archway glowed a dull white light and a moment later, the three Konoha ANBU were gone.

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They appeared in a forest darkened by the late afternoon shadows. The thundering sound of a large waterfall could be heard in the distance. The male in the wolf mask turned to the one with a white mask and the black lines of Konoha's symbol on it.

"The Valley of the End," he whispered. "Who would've thought, eh, Naiou?"

Naiou tilted his head in acknowledgement of his teammate's reminder to use their code names. "Who indeed, Nonki?"

Their pink-haired teammate, Ikasu, looked around and frowned at the blanket of trees in front of them. "Do you have any idea where they might be?"

Naiou simply ran through some seals and slammed his hand into the ground.

"_Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" _(Summoning Technique)

A medium sized purple snake appeared in a puff of smoke and stared, steely eyed at the man who summoned him.

"Sssaaasssuuke-ssaama," the snake whispered. "Long time, no ssseee…"

"Cut the chatter, Saki. It's not fooling anyone," Naiou said. "We need you to find two people. They'll have strong chakra colors and smell of Orochimaru's mansion." (2)

Saki nodded his head and sped along the ground. He flicked his tongue out in several different directions and finally ended with his snout pointed to the east.

"Over there," the summon said. "Two-hundred meterss easst."

"Thank you, Saki," Naiou said, patting the snake on his head. "And can you not tell Manda about this?"

"I don't owe that basstard anything…"

"He's your father."

"He ate my mother."

"You're right. Just go. By the way, you can call me Naiou now. It'll be easier on your tongue."

The snake bowed his head and disappeared as the ANBU sped toward their targets.

"Sasori will be harder to take care of because he's pretty tricky," Naiou informed the other two. "He uses puppets and it's almost impossible to get close enough to hurt him."

"What about his partner?" Ikasu asked. She knew without the men telling her that they would take care of Sasori. Deidara was her problem now.

"He fights using explosive clay," Naiou said. "It comes from these mouths that are on his hands."

"So if I can disable his arms then everything will be fine," she concluded.

"Perhaps," Naiou said. "They haven't shown me their true powers yet. Leave your trump cards for the main fight."

"How do you want to deal with puppet man?" Nonki asked. "Does he use puppets the way Kankuro does?"

"No, he doesn't like to play the way Kankuro does. And his puppets are more advanced—I heard that Sasori was the one who _made _Kankuro's puppets," Naiou answered. "Be prepared to fight multiple targets and watch out for the blades, they have poison on them."

"If that's the case, then here," Ikasu threw a bag at Nonki. "Those are specialized soldier pills that Shizune and I made. They counter-act most poisons and will let you move through my _Dokugiri _without any trouble" (Poison Mist)

Nonki quickly ate the pill and tossed the bag to Naiou, who did the same.

They stopped ten meters away from where the two Akatsuki members were resting and prepared themselves. Surprise was the best weapon they had at the moment. Once they agreed on a plan of action, the three split.

Ikasu landed on the ground near the clearing where Deidara and Sasori sat. She knew that Nonki was in a tree directly across from her and that Naiou was slowly creeping up on the puppet master.

"You might as well come out, yeah?" the blonde Akatsuki member called out. He turned to Ikasu's position and stared in her direction with blue eyes.

_Shit! _

Ikasu calmly went through some seals and whispered, "_Dokugiri!" _Dark purple mist poured from her mouth and into the clearing, effectively causing a smoke screen effect and paralyzing the two missing nins for a few seconds.

Her eyes widened as a clay kunai flew from the cloud towards her. She dodged it easily, but she heard someone within the cloud shout, _"Katsu!" _(3)

Ikasu quickly vanished in a flash of cherry blossoms and moved away from the explosive.

Nonki, in the meantime, used his _Kage Bunshin _(Shadow Clones) and ran straight into the poison cloud. His clones grabbed onto the redheaded Sasori and held him still. Naiou waited until he heard Nonki's shout before he jumped into the cloud and faced the puppet user.

_This is for Ana-chan, _he thought.

"_Kaze no Yaiba!" _(Blade of Wind) (4)

Sasori's eyes widened at the familiar jutsu and used his puppets to destroy the _kage bunshins_. Once they were gone, he barely had enough time to dodge the worst of the ANBU's wind blade.

Ikasu cursed Naiou for using the wind jutsu. Now her _dokugiri _was gone and they all stood facing their respective enemies in the middle of the clearing.

Deidara smiled at his opponent when he realized that it was a woman. He quickly got clay from his right hand and started to form a flower. Ikasu saw this and started to perform her own jutsu.

"_Magen: Jubaku Satsu!" _(Demonic Illusion: Tree Bind Death)

Deidara blinked as the woman disappeared. He almost dropped the clay flower when a large tree grew behind him and trapped him with its branches. Itachi-sama had described this technique to him, but he forgot how to break free of it without hurting himself. He felt a presence to his left and looked up to see the kunoichi come out of the tree. He bit into his lip until it bled and the genjutsu was dispelled, but not before he felt the woman grab his wrist and the burst of chakra she forced into his body. She threw his body forward and he rolled onto his knees, facing the woman.

Ikasu crouched as the blonde smirked. _"Katsu."_

She almost noticed the clay flower at her feet too late, but managed to jump up and miss the blast. However, it left her open for the small clay bird flying at her.

Naiou took the shuriken off of his armbands and threw them at the puppet pieces on the ground that Sasori used to destroy Nonki's clones. He used a few more kunai to pin down the pieces that weren't held by his shuriken. The puppet user smiled and held up his hands.

"_Kugutsu no Jutsu." _(Marionette Technique)

The pieces on the ground started to vibrate, but didn't move. Sasori's eyes narrowed as he noticed another set of chakra strings leading from his puppets to the dark-haired ANBU in front of him.

_So he's using the same technique as I am to control his shuriken and hold down my puppets, huh? _Sasori realized.

"He's not your only opponent, red eye!" Nonki yelled. Three clones burst from the forest and rushed the man.

Sasori willed the puppet on his back into action and the long tail of the scorpion puppet slashed through the clones with no trouble. They vanished in a puff of smoke. Nonki ran through the wisps and slashed the vulnerable man across the chest.

"_Katsu!"_

Sakura couldn't quite dodge the shockwave from the clay bird. Either Deidara was playing with her or he called out the command a beat too early. She landed on her feet and rushed the blonde head on.

"Foolish. You're wasting energy, yeah," he said. He made another clay kunai and prepared to throw it.

"_Tsutenkyaku!" _(Painful Sky Leg)

Ikasu jumped up into the air and slammed her heel into the ground. This caused a large crater to appear before her and the tremor rushed towards the man. Tsunade's signature move was performed with such perfect timing that Deidara dropped his kunai and fell to his knees.

This gave the pink-haired kunoichi the time to perform two jutsus: one defensive and one offensive.

"_Doton: Doryuheki!" _(Earth Element: Earth Style Wall)

Mud poured from her open mouth and formed a strong wall between her and Deidara. The blonde smirked and created two kunai. At least he _tried_ to create two kunai. He looked at his left hand. Because of the excitement of the fight, he didn't notice that his hand was numb. He realized then that he couldn't produce clay from his left hand. His head snapped to the wall in front of him and he frowned. He made up for the loss of his hand by making another kunai with his right.

His hesitation proved to be his downfall as a voice rang from beneath him.

"_Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!" _(Earth Element: Inner Decapitation Technique)

Gloved hands burst through the ground and grabbed Deidara's ankles. Before he knew it, he was brought down into the earth up to his neck. The blonde was about to blow his way out of his prison when he felt two hands on his head.

"Too late," the woman whispered.

"_Eisei Kinjustu: Shinu Dainou!" _(Forbidden Medical Technique: Brain Death) (5)

She quickly sent five strong bursts of her muscle freezing chakra into the man's brain. Blood poured from his ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. Ikasu stood up and controlled her disgust. Sometimes, she hated being in ANBU.

Nonki yelled in frustration as his blow was blocked by another puppet. He back flipped out of the puppet's reach and looked over Sasori again. The red-eyed man was covered in puppets. Naiou was using techniques he learned from Kankuro to keep most of them out of play, but that still left the bigger ones for Nonki to deal with.

Naiou struggled against the pull Sasori was putting on the puppets pinned to the ground with his weapons. A flash of pink behind the redhead alerted the Konoha shinobi that Ikasu was there to help and he smirked. Transferring the chakra strings on his right hand to his left, he reached for the whip he took from Kina's weapons wall.

With an expert flick, he wrapped the leather around Sasori's neck and reinforced it with his chakra.

"Do you think that will stop me?" he asked. He reached up to pull the offending article from his neck, but froze as soon as his fingers touched the braided leather.

"_Kanashibari no Jutsu!" _(Body Freeze Technique)

Nonki smiled at the sound of Ikasu's voice and focused his chakra into the palm of his hand. Soon a glowing blue orb swirled there in vibrant color.

"Aim for the middle of his chest!" Ikasu shouted.

Nonki nodded. If Ikasu said to aim there, then he would aim there. As a medic, she was quick in finding physical weak points in an opponent. He charged the immobilized Sasori and drew back his arm.

"_Rasengan!"_

The chakra orb impacted against Sasori's chest and blasted the puppet on his back to bits. They all felt the pressure against their respective jutsus lessen as the redhead died in Nonki's arms.

Naiou stood over Sasori and took a kunai from the pouch on his leg.

"What are you doing?" Ikasu asked.

"I promised my sister his eyes," he answered coldly, staring into Sasori's dead red eyes.

"Nonki, dig Deidara out of the ground and search him," Ikasu ordered, taking the lead as their mission came to an end. "Take his ring and see if Orochimaru's is with him. We'll search Sasori."

Naiou blinked when Ikasu took the kunai from him. "I need his eyes."

"I know," she sighed. It was against ANBU policy to take body parts of missing nins for themselves, but this was a request from the Kazekage's wife. All they needed were the heads of the dead _nukenin._ (6)

"I'm the medic," she explained. "I'll do it. You search him. Take his ring, but just don't move him too much."

They worked silently and quickly. Nonki and Naiou cut the men's heads off and placed them in waterproof bags they carried just for this purpose. Ikasu pocketed the Akatsuki rings they found and destroyed the bodies with a fire jutsu.

Naiou held a smaller, bloody bag in his hand and looked at his teammates.

"Let's go home."

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Kotetsu was daydreaming about gutting a certain ANBU for humiliating him that morning when three 'poofs' sounded. He jerked out of his daze to find Ikasu, Nonki, and the ANBU he dreamt of gutting standing in front of him.

"Is the Hokage busy?" Nonki asked politely. The man was acting as if visiting the Hokage with a bloody bag on his hip was a regular occurrence. But considering his chosen profession, it probably was.

"Go right in," he said. The three nodded and walked into the office.

Tsunade sat at her desk watching the screen on the opposite wall, laughing. When the three ANBU turned to look, they were surprised to see a video recording of Kotetsu hopping on one foot and making the strangest sounds.

"What the fu—" Nonki started only to get beaned by a heavy scroll.

"Watch the language young man!" Tsunade yelled. Naiou and Ikasu ignored the groaning, bleeding blonde, closed the blinds of the office, and removed their masks.

"We completed the mission, Godaime-sama," Ikasu said. Nonki and Naiou placed the bloody bags containing the heads of Sasori and Deidara on a plastic bin on her desk.

"What happened to his eyes?" Tsunade asked, recognizing the red circles on one of the bags as wounds.

"Kinabuhi-sama requested the eyes of Sasori," Naiou answered with his trademark monotone. "We delivered them as well as the Akatsuki rings to the Kazekage before returning home."

"It must feel good to say that again, Naiou," Tsunade remarked offhandedly.

A soft look entered the man's eyes and he nodded. "Yes, it's good to call Konoha home once more."

"Why did you give the Akatsuki rings to the Kazekage?" Tsunade demanded, returning to her more serious mood.

"It was agreed that Akatsuki would be mostly Suna's responsibility," Nonki reminded her. "They are the ones under the most threatening circumstances. Now, more than ever."

The Godaime raised an eyebrow in question and Ikasu stepped forward and placed a scroll in front of the woman. "Everything is explained in the scroll."

"If you don't mind, Tsunade-sama," Nonki said, stretching his arms over his head and cracking his back in the process. "We're very tired and want to go to bed."

"As long as you _sleep _in your beds, I have no problem with it," Tsunade smirked. When Nonki turned red, she couldn't resist adding, "Goodness, one night with her and you already blush in the same way."

"Tsunade-baachan," Nonki complained.

"You're dismissed," she said, letting him off the hook…for now. "You'll receive the bounties for your work within the next week. Good job."

The three placed their masks over their faces once more and promptly disappeared.

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A few hours later, Sasuke stepped out of Sakura's shower only to be tackled by a sweet smelling woman.

"Sakura-chan," he murmured. "You're clothes are going to get wet."

The kunoichi snuggled into his chest and sighed. "Don't care."

"This is quickly becoming a habit of yours, I see. Can I at least get a towel on?"

"No."

"Okay."

He picked her up and dropped her onto her bed. She was about to protest when he slid under the sheets next to her.

"So what do you really think about Kina's world?" she asked softly.

"What I told her is what I think," Sasuke answered, staring at the ceiling. "I've kept too many secrets and feelings inside. I don't do that with my foster sister. Something in me won't let me do that to her."

"Will you keep things from me?" she whispered.

"Maybe…" he admitted. He felt her stiffen next to him and spoke quickly. "About the bloodier aspects of our jobs, I mean. You don't tell me every detail, so don't expect the same from me."

"But what about your feelings?"

"I'll try," he sighed. "But sharing things with a sibling is different than sharing them with a lover."

Sakura nodded. She knew that there were things she told Naruto that Shino never heard even in the most intimate of circumstances. _Especially_ in the most intimate of circumstances.

"I understand."

"Good."

They were about to share a kiss when frantic knocking on the door interrupted them. Sakura sighed in disgust and went to answer it. Sasuke heard Naruto's voice and Hinata's small laugh. He was only slightly prepared for the blonde to burst into Sakura's room, but was floored when Hinata followed.

"Get dressed, teme," Naruto barked as he threw clothes at the Uchiha. "Hinata, Sakura's med kit is over there."

"Med kit?" Sasuke asked. "What's wrong?"

"Kina went into labor two hours ago," Naruto explained. Hinata hurried out of the room when Sasuke jumped out of the bed and began dressing. "Baa-chan and Shizune-neechan are with her, but they need Sakura-chan, too."

When Sasuke entered the living room, he saw Naruto pull a large curtain off of one of her walls. Drawn on it was the same archway that was in the small cave in the Hokage Monument and in their secret room. He could tell that there was something Naruto wasn't telling him and it only took one long look from the Uchiha for the blonde to spill his guts.

"They're having problems with the babies," Naruto whispered, looking at the wall.

Sasuke's eyes widened and he slashed his palm with no hesitation.

They all bloodied their hands and pressed them against the Suna symbol. After a bright pulse of light, the quartet was gone.

**

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A/N:**

So, what do you think? Fight scenes aren't my thing. They're my weakest point when it comes to writing. I'm trying to improve, but I think it sucks.

**(1) **Otogakure is the Hidden Village of Sound.

**(2) **Let's pretend that summon snakes can "see" chakra and the stronger the person's chakra, the brighter the color, okay?

**(3) **Deidara says _Katsu _to activate his exploding clay.

**(4) **Sasuke/Temeki/Naiou spent six years in Suna…he had to learn _something!_

**(5) **Okay, this one I made up. She can freeze muscles…the brain is a muscle…and of course it's going to be a forbidden technique!

**(6) **_Nukenin _means "missing nin." I got tired of using that phrase.


	14. New Lives

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto

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Chapter 14: New Lives

Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Sasuke appeared in a brightly lit waiting room. Temari and Kankuro sat next to each other and softly talked to the small child in the older man's lap. Shikamaru sat by his wife and prayed that the medical book he borrowed from his father could help Tsunade. Hinata quickly ushered Sakura to the doors that led to the delivery room.

Kakashi stood outside of the doorway and nodded at the pink-haired medic. "Go," he said. "Don't mind the seals, they won't affect _your_ chakra."

With that cryptic remark, Sakura pushed past her ex-sensei. "I've got to go help," she said and disappeared through the doors.

Once she entered the room, she was surprised by the number of binding seals placed on the floor around Kina's bed. Gaara sat behind his wife, giving her support both physically and mentally as he held her hands. Shizune held glowing hands to the woman's shuddering belly as she tried her best to numb the pain of the contractions. Tsunade sat in a chair at the foot of the bed and murmured encouragement to the struggling mother.

Years of working together made it easy for Sakura to ease into the scene before her. Standing on the other side of the bed, she concentrated and placed her hands on Kina's stomach. She closed her eyes for a few moments as she got the feel of her contractions and began massaging the taut muscles in time to them.

"Lilith wasn't this much trouble," Kina panted as she rested a bit before the next wave hit. She relaxed her hold on Gaara's hand and gave a half smile when he quickly snapped his finger back into its socket.

"You dislocated my index finger, Kina," he calmly stated.

"I just might break your entire hand by the time these babies are born," she shot back. She pressed her head hard against her husband's shoulder as another contraction tore through her body. "GOD-FUCKING-DAMMIT!"

Gaara's heart tore in half at the pain his love was going through. It was true that this delivery was more difficult than that of their first child. He just took his wife's hand and continued to subtly reinforce her chakra and energy with his own. It was the only thing he could do at the moment.

"Why won't this baby be born?" she shouted at the three medical shinobi attending her. "Why the _fuck_ can't you make this baby be BORN?"

The women ignored the cursing and Shizune answered, "Because they aren't ready to be born yet, Kinabuhi-sama."

"What do you mean 'they aren't _ready'_?" she screamed.

"You're twins are having their first disagreement," Tsunade gritted through her teeth. The first child was being stubborn while the second was impatient. The contrast between the two was making the labor more difficult than it should have been.

"WHAT?" both Gaara and Kina yelled in shock.

Sakura bit back a smile and continued her steady massage. She knew that Shizune and Tsunade, as well as Gaara, were slowly feeding the woman and her babies chakra. The intensity of the contractions was quickly drawing the energy from the woman and she didn't think that Kina could last more than four more hours, demon vessel or not.

"What's with the seals?" she asked her sensei.

"Kina's chakra, along with Gaara's and their babies, is too volatile at this moment," the Hokage answered. "Without the seals, the whole hospital could blow from the chakra blast."

"So the children will be vessels as well?" Sakura quickly grasped the truth of Tsunade's short explanation. "They'll have demons inside them?"

"It's not a bad thing, Cotton-candy freak," Kina snapped. "They'll grow up to be good people, just you wait."

Sakura just nodded. With Kina as their mother, she had no doubt about that.

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"Why is it taking so long?" Naruto asked as he stood by the doorway. Another yell came through the wooden door. "She sounds like she's being tortured."

"Babies come in their own time," Kakashi said. He sounded as calm as he always did, but inside he was quaking in fear. Even with the seals he and Kankuro drew, some of Kina's chakra was leaking out and the strength of it stunned him.

Plus, the idea of any woman giving birth freaked the Copy Ninja out more than anything.

_Stupid Asuma, _he thought. Kakashi fully blamed the fact that he could vividly imagine what Kina was going through on the man. The chain-smoking jounin and proud father had shown Kakashi the video he had of Kurenai's labor of their only child.

"But she's been in there for six hours," Sasuke whispered, worried about his foster sister. "Lilith was already born and feeding by this time."

Temari and Kankuro watched the three Konoha shinobi whispering to each other by their sister-in-law's delivery room. Although they were friends of hers, they knew that they were also there for security reasons. The two Suna nin acknowledged the fact that security was needed in this situation, but they didn't have to _like _it.

The appearance of Uchiha Sasuke was a surprise to Temari, Kankuro, and Shikamaru. During their long discussion with Gaara and Kina, the plan for Akatsuki was explained to them. The couple apologized for keeping the information hidden from them, but the three shinobi understood more than anyone the value of secrecy. Not to mention the realism raw human reaction and emotion added to keep Sasuke's deception alive.

Lilith wriggled out of Kankuro's lap and walked over to her godfather and his friends.

The three-year-old looked up at the tall men and immediately recognized her godfather, Naruto, and his sensei, Kakashi. She looked at the third man and realized that, although she didn't recognize him, he seemed familiar. So it was to the third man that she raised her arms to.

Sasuke stared at the small redhead and looked into her purple eyes.

_Her mother's eyes, _he thought.

Without hesitation, he picked the girl up and, with the familiarity that comes with handling children, placed her on his hip.

The others were shocked.

Lilith was an outgoing child, but she'd never asked as stranger to pick her up.

And she'd never seen Uchiha Sasuke before in her life.

"You have her eyes," the child whispered into the man's neck. "And you smell like her."

"Who, imp?" Sasuke asked, automatically using the nickname the Sabaku family used for her.

"Auntie Temeki-chan," Lilith innocently murmured, rubbing her cheek against the man's dark hair. "She calls me 'imp,' too."

"I thought your Aunt's eyes were light blue," Sasuke stalled. His eyes darted to Temari, but the woman shook her head. His eyes were still darkest black.

"There's more to someone's eyes than color," she answered.

"And there're more wonders in the world to see for those who have the intelligence to look for it," Kakashi said.

Sasuke nodded and held his godchild closer to his heart.

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"I can't do this anymore," Kina sobbed. It was almost eight hours since her water broke and she was tired.

Gaara propped himself behind his wife and massaged her shoulders. "Yes, you can," he encouraged.

"No, I can't."

He was surprised by his wife's listlessness. "Yes, you can!" he repeated.

The three medics looked at each other in fear. If Kina's will gave out now, then she and the babies would almost certainly die. They could manage to deliver the twins, but if Kina didn't _try _then the babies would give up as well.

"I want my Kuya," she sobbed into her husband's shoulder.

Gaara nodded and placed a kiss on her sweaty hair. He knew that she missed her brother. His heart ached as he realized that he was partially responsible for the fact that she couldn't even have her foster sister at her side for this.

"I know," he murmured.

Another contraction hit her tired body and Kina let loose with another howl and screamed.

"_TEMEKI!"_

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Sasuke jerked as they all heard Kina scream for her sister. Lilith's hold tightened on his neck and he absentmindedly ran his hand down her back, giving her comfort. He avoided the gazes of Temari, Kankuro, and even Shikamaru and met the cool, assessing one of Hyuuga Hinata.

"She needs her sibling," the pearl-eyed kunoichi whispered.

He hesitated, but Kina's next scream made his decision an easy one.

"_**SASUKE!"**_

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"_**SASUKE!"**_

Sakura looked up at Kina, surprised that she'd yelled out the Uchiha's name. She was even more surprised when the man in question barreled through the doors, stood next to Sakura and grabbed Kina's hand.

"I'm here," he whispered. "Kina-chan, I'm here."

Kina laughed and rubbed their joined hands to her cheek. "Took you long enough, _tonto._"

"Hey, watch who you call an idiot," he joked, using a towel to wipe the sweat off of her forehead. "I'm supposed to be a genius, remember?"

Gaara used his free hand to clasp Sasuke on the shoulder and the two shared a look of deep respect and gratitude.

Sakura looked on and wondered why these three looked more like a family than when she saw the couple with Temari and Kankuro. She wanted to ask what had happened to form the bond between them, but Kina's next contraction made that impossible.

Kina grabbed both Gaara and Sasuke's hands and sat straight up. Now that her foster brother was with her, her determination returned along with her strength. Temeki had been there when Lilith was born. It was only fitting that the man who was Temeki be here when her twins were born.

Sasuke gripped Kina's hand and looked at Gaara. Her chakra was still strong, but her strength was weakening. The redhead returned Sasuke's look and nodded.

Using their joined hands, the two men formed the Master Seal with Kina and concentrated on transferring their strength to the woman.

Kina felt a burst of energy and screamed.

Tsunade quickly took advantage of the situation and eased the baby boy from his mother's womb. Sakura took the baby and cleaned him up while Tsunade delivered the baby girl who quickly followed her brother. Shizune took Tsunade's place by the foot of the bed and took care of the afterbirth.

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The loud cries of the newborns both reassured and confused the people in the waiting room.

"I thought babies only came _one _at a time," Lilith told her uncle. "Why do I hear _two _babies?"

"_That's _why she was so huge," Kankuro whispered. He shook his head in wonder while Temari gaped and Shikamaru's face took on a green and worried look.

"You didn't tell me _twins _run in your family," he murmured.

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Kina laughed as she looked at her twins. Sakura placed the firstborn in her arms and she immediately counted his fingers and toes. His pale skin matched Gaara's, but his hair was the exact shade as Kina's. She smiled at her husband and gently kissed his lips.

Tsunade offered the other baby to Gaara, but he shook his head and motioned to Sasuke. Sakura was surprised again when Sasuke smiled and expertly handled the newborn. He sat down on the bed and looked over at Kina.

"Looks like you got a two for one deal this time, sister," he said, laughing.

Kina and Gaara laughed as well as Sasuke cuddled the dark-haired newborn girl to his chest.

"Well," Kina sighed. "You know how I always like a good bargain, Sasuke-niichan."

Sasuke kissed her on the forehead and smiled. "We'll see how much of a bargain they are when they keep you up all night."

"Shut up and let me enjoy this moment, _tonto._"

Sakura couldn't help but smile at the banter between the two. They really _were _acting like siblings.

"What are you going to name them?" he asked.

Gaara eased himself from behind Kina and took his daughter from Sasuke. "I don't know," the Kazekage answered. He nuzzled his face against the newborn's cheek and smiled. God hadn't gifted him with two children. He'd given him _three. _First Lilith, and now these two, tiny twins.

_I will protect you with my life, _he vowed to the child in his arms as he vowed to Lilith when he first held her. _No matter what it takes, I will protect you, your siblings, and your Mama._

"They weren't supposed to arrive yet," Kina said.

"We'll take them now," Tsunade smiled gently. "You need recover and the rest of your family is anxious to see the new additions."

Sasuke caught Sakura's eye and smiled gently at her. Her breath caught and she smiled back. The moment seemed to stretch before Sasuke looked away.

"I'll get rid of the seals with Kakashi and then head back to my mission," he said softly to the suddenly sleepy Kina. "I'm not even supposed to be here."

"Okay," Kina slurred. "But I want you to be a godfather again. Sakura, think you can handle being godmother?"

Sakura nodded once and went with Shizune to take care of the babies.

_What were the emotions I saw in his eyes? _Sakura wondered as she placed the little girl in a cradle. _Longing? Longing for what? And there was something else too. Determination, anxiousness, and anticipation. Sasuke, what are you thinking about?_

Sasuke was pushed to the back of her mind as soon as she saw Lilith race to the window and smile at her little brother and sister.

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"Oh, Naruto-kun, look how tiny they are!" Hinata whispered as the blonde hugged her from behind.

The group smiled as the baby wrapped in the pink blanket cried loud enough to vibrate the glass separating the nursery from the hallway. The baby in the blue blanket simply continued to suck on the pacifier the nurse gave him.

"Well, at least now we can believe Kina-chan when she says she was born with that loud voice of hers," Kankuro joked.

"Shika-kun," Temari said, leaning against her husband. "I can't wait until it's my turn."

The Nara grunted and placed his arm around her shoulders. "Two hours ago you were threatening my manhood for getting you into a situation where you have to go through the pain of childbirth," he reminded the blonde.

She blushed and looked again at the babies. "If it gets me one of those, I don't care."

Naruto listened shamelessly to their conversation and chose that moment to interrupt. "So I guess that means that me and Hinata will be visting you in Konoha's hosptital in about nine months?" he asked.

Sakura joined the group just as everyone turned to Temari and Shikamaru. "Hey guys!" she said. "What's going on?"

"Temari-kaasan was just about to share her news with us," Naruto said slyly.

"Kaa-san?" she repeated. "Why are you calling Temari a mother? Oh my god! You too?"

That was all the warning Temari had before she was crushed in a hug from both Sakura and Hinata. Naruto soon joined in and she looked at her husband for help.

"Oi," he said. "Don't be troublesome. Pregnant women need more oxygen than regular people."

The three immediately released her and sighed in relief when her skin became a normal color again.

"What do you mean 'you too'?" Kankuro asked.

Hinata turned to the paint-wearing puppet master and smiled. "Neji-niisan and Tenten-chan are expecting a baby as well!" she announced.

Kakashi smiled behind his mask and patted Naruto on the back. "So, when will can we expect a blonde-haired, white-eyed child, Naruto?"

The blonde stuttered for a few moments and Hinata turned bright red. The moment was broken when Lilith tapped on the glass.

"There's Daddy!" she said. "Uncle Kanky, pick me up so I can see." Her uncle shrugged and obeyed the order.

Gaara waved at the group on the other side of the glass and smiled. He walked behind the two cribs and looked down at his children. He placed two cards in the cardholders at the top of each crib and Lilith read the names out loud.

"Maayo," she repeated as Gaara's hand placed the card over the girl's crib. "And…Ayo," she read from the boy's crib. The adults noticed that she pronounced 'Maayo' as 'Mah-ayo.'

"I don't recognize those names," Kakashi said.

"They're from my grandfather's home. Mama's homeland," Lilith answered, wisdom filling her young voice. "Maayo means 'fair' or 'good' and Ayo means 'order' or 'to heal.'"

"How do you know that?" Sakura wondered.

"Shukaku told Akakuro that right now," she said calmly.

"Shukaku?" Kakashi asked.

"Who's Akakuro?" Hinata questioned.

"My demon," Lilith responded. "She can talk to Shukaku since he's her daddy the way my Daddy is my daddy."

Everyone nodded. It made perfect sense—especially when Naruto smiled at the girl with a serious light in his eyes. They all looked over at the baby girl in her crib and the baby boy who was now in Gaara's arms.

_Don't worry, Daddy, _Lilith thought to her father. She picked up on his worry and fear, but didn't know the cause. _Everything will be okay._

Gaara cuddled his son to his chest and smiled at his oldest child.

_I know, Lilith-chan, _he answered through the link their demons provided them. _I know._

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Kina turned her head to the darkest corner of her hospital room and smirked.

"You might as well tell me what you want," she said. "Things won't wait for you forever."

"I need your help," Sasuke whispered.

She pushed herself into a sitting position and gestured to the chair by her bed. "What do you need of me?"

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A/N:**

Okay, some stuff before the seriousness breaks through again. No footnotes…yay! Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far, you guys are the best!

If you wanna read the sidefic I have about Gaara and his twins, it's called "Only For You."


	15. Returning

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto

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Chapter 15: Returning

Kisame looked up from the book he was reading when Temeki came through the teleportation wall. His eyes widened as he looked over her appearance. Sand covered most of her body and her clothes were torn in some pretty interesting places. She dragged a well-worn backpack behind her and her hair was a mess. Bruises and scrapes marred her pretty skin and bandages covered most of her neck.

"What the fuck have you been doing?" he asked.

Before she could answer, Itachi came into the living room from his bedroom. He frowned at his cousin's form and barked out, "Where the hell have you been?"

"Fighting for my life," she answered, heading for her room. Her voice was hoarse and cracked when she spoke, as if she went several days without water or was choked very recently.

"You've been gone for a week, Temeki," Itachi glowered.

"Trapped in Suna." She just waved her hand behind her. "Tell you later," she said. "Shower first."

The door slammed on the two Akatsuki members and they turned to each other and frowned.

"This isn't going to happen every time she gets her period is it?" Kisame asked.

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When the bedroom door opened again, a cleaner, happier Temeki walked through the portal. She held two scrolls in her hands and looked around the living room.

"Where's nii-san?" she asked.

Kisame didn't look up from the book he was reading. "Leader sent him out somewhere," he answered.

Temeki leaned over the back of the couch to see what was so interesting and frowned when she saw the familiar orange of an _Icha Icha _book. "That stuff rots your brain, y'know," she smirked.

"And makes hair grow on the palms of my hands, I know," Kisame finished the second part of the old joke since Itachi wasn't around to say it himself.

"Oh well," she said, falling onto one of the recliners next to the couch. "Guess I'll have to give you your present first."

At the mention of a present, Kisame sat up and looked at the woman. His eyes followed the scroll she twirled on the tip of her finger and wondered what it could be.

She smiled at the man and looked him over. "You know who Naruto's sensei is, right?" she asked.

"Jiraiya," he answered.

"And what does Jiraiya do when he's not being a legendary Sannin?"

"Write…"

"Write what?"

The shark-like man looked down at the book in his lap. His head snapped up as what she was saying got through to him.

"You mean…"

"Uh-huh."

"That's…"

"You guessed it."

"Can I have it?"

Temeki laughed at the eager look in his eyes. "When's Itachi gonna be home?" she asked. "He'll ruin all of my electronic equipment if he finds out I've been feeding your habit."

"Won't be for a while," he answered, hungry for the newest installment of his favorite series. "Leader sent him after Sasori and Deidara. They've been gone for too long."

He didn't notice that Temeki's eyes narrowed dangerously at his admission. He only had eyes for the scroll that was flying through the air in his direction.

"Just don't read it in front of me," she said, standing. "Actually, I'm going to train a bit. Don't open that until I'm gone."

Kisame nodded and barely acknowledged when the Suna nin left the room. His hand shook as he opened the scroll. Blank paper glowed up at him and he frowned. Unraveling the scroll further, he finally came to some black script.

But it wasn't the new _Icha Icha _book.

Smoke billowed around the man and scroll as he dropped it and sprang up. He was completely unprepared for the woman who appeared, but when he recognized her pink hair, anger surged through him.

"You're dead!" he yelled.

"Not yet," she smirked. Sakura brought her arm up and pulled the trigger on the tiny crossbow on her gauntlet. Kisame blocked the dart from hitting his neck, but it imbedded itself into his shoulder instead.

He felt his muscles start to freeze and looked on in shock as two more people appeared next to Sakura. With his last burst of strength, he gathered his chakra and whispered a justu.

"_Suiton: Suikodan no Jutsu!" _(Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique)

Pipes burst through the walls as Kisame's jutsu took water from the nearest available source. The three shinobi would have been hit with the high pressure water bullets if it hadn't been for the wall of sand that came up and blocked them. The water mixed with the sand to create harmless mudballs at the trio's feet.

_Shit, _Kisame thought. _Naruto must have sold her a summoning scroll instead. _

His sword was in his room and the apartment was shielded so none of the other Akastuki members knew that there were intruders in their base—if any Akatsuki members were even _home _at the moment. The Leader expected them to take care of their own security. They were Akatsuki, they should be able to protect their own homes.

Even as the rest of his muscles began to stiffen, he never suspected Temeki of betrayal.

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Temeki pressed her hand to the stone door of Ana's cell and waited for it to open. Once it did, she ran through the doorway and shook the sleeping girl awake.

"Come on!" she whispered. "We've got to get you to my room."

Ana's eye widened and she wasted no time in following the woman. They darted up corridors that she'd never seen before, but she trusted in the Uchiha. When they entered a living room decorated in green and brown, her heart almost stopped beating when she saw three figures standing around Kisame.

Gaara, Sakura, and Naruto turned to the two women and stared.

"We need to keep to the plan," Gaara said. "It was too easy to beat this guy. No way is he _that _stupid."

"Don't underestimate the alluring power of hentai," Naruto warned. "It turns the strongest men into adolescent pricks."

Sakura looked over the frozen Kisame and noticed that his chakra was steadily building. "Gaara, we need to do something about him now," she said. "He won't stay incapacitated for long."

The redhead nodded and formed several seals.

"_Suna no Shuriken!" _(Sand Shuriken)

The shuriken flew at the man and he smirked. The sand wouldn't harm him at all. Then he heard another voice.

"_Katon: Karyuu Endan!"_ (Fire Element: Fire Dragon Flame Blast)

His eyes widened when the flames didn't head for the Kazekage as he expected. Instead, they cut across the path of Gaara's shuriken. The heat from the flames instantly melted the sand and turned the once harmless sand into shuriken made of the sharpest glass. Kisame couldn't dodge as the still searingly hot projectiles flew at him and stabbed him ruthlessly. The force threw him against the fireplace and he coughed up blood as his back hit the stone mantle.

He felt a presence to his right and saw the serious face of the kyuubi brat. Naruto smiled and plunged the senbon he held into Kisame's neck. Sakura told him exactly where to place the needle and his smile widened as the taller man slumped to the ground.

Sakura crouched in front of him and sighed. "He just paralyzed the motor neurons in your entire body south of your neck. You can't move anything, but you'll feel _everything_. In the next five minutes, you'll feel every single nerve ending in your body dying," she explained. She grabbed his hand and took the ring from his finger. "You won't need this anymore."

"B-bitch," he whispered.

Temeki turned to Ana and handed her a kunai. "Do you want the honors?" she asked. A smile graced her features and the quartet couldn't help but notice how similar it was to the bloodthirsty grin of the fifth member of their group.

She took the kunai and straddled the man on the floor. "This is what you wanted, right?" she asked in a husky voice. His eyes widened as he heard the woman speak in his language. She wasn't supposed to know their language!

She leaned in close and dragged her breasts across his chest. "You wanted me on top of you writhing in ecstasy right?" she asked again.

She stabbed Kisame in the side, right below his ribcage and into his kidney, getting part of the liver as well. She dragged the kunai up in a rough movement and grinned as his internal organs began to slip out of the large hole she created.

"Well, I'm on top of you," she whispered into the deadening eyes of the missing nin. "And I'm extremely ecstatic."

Naruto and Sakura turned away from the sight. Gaara and Temeki just stared. Temeki, used to the way Kina handled her kills, nodded and held out a hand to help Ana up.

"You're a lot like your cousin, you know that?" she asked. "That's Kina's favorite way to kill someone. Without the straddling, of course." Temeki gave the woman a scroll and smiled.

"It's a gift from Kina," she explained. "She can't be here physically since she just gave birth to twins, but she said that it would help you beat Itachi."

"Don't you want to kill him?" Ana asked, looking at the Uchiha from the corner of her eye.

"No," she answered, honestly. "Killing him won't bring my clan back. Living my life and raising my children will."

"Glad you realized that," she smiled.

Ana nodded and slammed her hand into Temeki's forehead, gripping the younger woman's head in her talon-like palm. Purple-black chakra poured from Ana's hand and into Temeki as the Uchiha screamed in pain. Sakura and Naruto rushed forward to help their friend, but stopped when she turned a glowing purple eye at them.

"Don't interfere," she growled. Her voice held the sound of two women and they recognized the presence of Ana's demon. "This is for the Uchiha's own good."

When she removed her hand, said Uchiha fell to the floor. However, it wasn't in the female form of Temeki. Instead, Sasuke lay on the ground. Sakura ran to him and checked his vital signs.

"He's alive," she said. "But we need to get him to a hospital."

Naruto nodded and he and Gaara picked the unconscious man up. Their exit was stopped by the arrival of Uchiha Itachi.

"Sasori and Deidara are dead," he said, not looking up from whatever he was holding in his hands. "And the eagle bitch had her kid. Temeki, Kisame, we have to go to Suna and—"

He stopped his uncharacteristically excited monologue and looked up when he felt the presence of five chakras that were most certainly not supposed to be there. His eyes narrowed as he recognized his brother in the arms of two of the demon vessels he wanted to capture. He turned to the bloodstained Ana and his eyes looked over the body of Kisame.

In an instant, he was in front of the female demon vessel. His anger clouded his judgement as he gripped the side of her head and ripped the bandage off of her face. He stared into her mismatched eyes—one dark purple and the other so pure black, even the whites of her eyes were black—and growled.

"_Tsukuyomi." _(Moon Reader)

The others looked on in horror as Itachi took Ana into his world of torture and hell.

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Ana opened her eyes to the familiar red and black of Itachi's illusion. She was spread-eagled on her back tied to a large bed of white satin. She craned her neck and saw that the man controlling the illusion held a whip in his hands. He was naked.

It was a state that they both shared at the moment.

"I thought rape was above Akatsuki members," she spat at the man.

Itachi tilted his head at the sentence. "Why ask that question now, Ana-chan?" he drawled. If he was surprised by her sudden command of his language, he didn't show it. He ran the handle of the whip across her bare body. "We both know that this is my favorite illusion for you."

It was true. Whenever he used his _Tsukuyomi _on her, he put her in this situation. He always spent the three days taking and torturing her body in whatever way he deemed fit. And she always ached for days afterward.

The day he showed the technique to Temeki, he was especially brutal. If it hadn't been for her demon, Tsubakikan, Ana would have gone insane long before now.

Her hands tightened into fists as she glared at Itachi and waited for the first blow. She felt something in her right hand and looked at it. The scroll Kina told Temeki to give her was clasped in her hand. She didn't know how, but the scroll was in the illusion with her.

She closed her eyes and felt energy enter her body from the scroll. She heard her cousin's voice speak to her and knew what to do.

Itachi frowned at the woman on the bed. Normally, she was stiff as a board by this point. He saw chakra begin to envelope the woman and took a step back.

"What the hell?" he wondered.

Ana opened her eyes and stared at the blood red moon above her. Kina explained everything to her.

She knew what to do.

"_Magen: Kyoten Chiten!" _

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A/N:**

Hahahahaha! Cliffy! Not gonna tell you what the last jutsu was…you have to wait until the next chapter to find out!

Lalalalalalalalalala!

Again, fight sequences aren't my thing so I kept Kisame's short. I'll tell you what is my thing though…torture sequences…hint, hint

/rubs hands together in glee/


	16. Welcome

**Disclaimer: **I own my computer…not Naruto

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Chapter 16: Welcome

Gaara, Naruto, and Sakura stared in horror as Itachi took Ana into his world of illusion and torture. Naruto steadied his hold on the unconscious Sasuke and frowned. This was different than the time he saw Itachi use _Tsukuyomi _(Moon Reader) on Sasuke.

For one thing, they stood still for more than three seconds. From what the kitsune knew, the genjutsu lasted for seventy-two hours in the mind of the victim but in reality was only three seconds.

For another, the scroll Ana held was glowing with a dark purple light. Gaara narrowed his eyes and confirmed that the chakra emanating from the scroll was his wife, Kina's.

Their eyes widened as Itachi began to scream.

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"_Magen: Kyoten Chiten!" _(Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change)

Itachi's red eyes widened in shock as the woman spread before him whispered the jutsu he created.

He thought that the only people who could use the technique were those who possessed the Sharingan. It was something he came up with to combat genjutsus and turn them against the user. He used it when that red-eyed kunoichi, Kurenai, trapped her in her death tree illusion so long ago.

Suddenly, the world shifted under his feet.

Instead of the red, black and white of the bedroom he created, he was now dressed in his old Uchiha clothing and standing in the middle of a busy city street. He narrowly dodged hulking metal creations and people as he tried to make his way to the side of the street.

Once there, he looked around, interested in this new world.

He knew the metal vehicles were called cars—he was well read and not _that_ disoriented. The people didn't dress much differently from the people from his world. Except, in his world, men wore their pants around their waists, not around their asses, and girls in this world were more aggressive. If that was even _possible._

"What the hell d'you think _you're _doin'?" a rough voice called out.

Itachi's shirt was grabbed from behind and he soon found himself face to face with a tall man.

He didn't look any different than the other people in the illusion. He fit the same color scheme as the rest. But something about his eyes made him seem _more. _More than an illusion.

The man was wiry with muscles, but not overly so, had hair that spiked everywhich way and a metal post through his left eyebrow. A tattoo covered his left shoulder and Itachi was intrigued when he noticed that it was the exact same tattoo the demon vessel, Kinabuhi, had.

The man threw the Uchiha against a brick wall and smiled when he coughed in pain. He was then dragged to an empty basketball court that was surrounded by a chain-link fence. The man pulled out a pair of handcuffs and cuffed Itachi to the fence with his arms above his head, but his elbows bent so that he could rest his hands on the top of his head if he wanted to.

He then pulled out a metal weapon. But Itachi had never seen or read about this type of weapon before. It was compact, made of pieces of metal that met at a little less than a right angle, and fit into his enemy's hand as well as a kunai would fit in the Uchiha's. The metal gleamed dully in the red moonlight and he watched as the man pulled the top half of the weapon towards him.

A distinct clicking sound echoed through the basketball court.

Feminine laughter followed the sound and both men turned to look at the two women next to each other near the only car parked in the area. Where Itachi, the man, and their surroundings were in stark shades of black, white, and red, the women glowed with blinding color.

One had long black hair that reached the back of her knees. But she wasn't dressed in the clothes that Itachi knew she favored. Short purple denim shorts covered her lower half while a black bikini top covered her ample breasts. A sleeveless half-jacket in dull green covered her shoulders and the upper part of her torso. She wore clunky black boots with their laces untied and a smirk graced her face. Chains circled her flat belly and he noticed that she had a small jewel hanging from her belly button as well as a silver post in her left eyebrow.

Purple eyes laughed at him as she sat on the roof of the small car. One foot rested on the slant of the windshield while the other leg swung carelessly against the side of the car. She rested on her elbow and stared at the trapped Uchiha.

The other woman smiled at him through identical purple eyes and swept her pure white bangs behind her ears. Sky blue pants hung off of her hips, low enough to show Itachi the purple lace of her undergarments. A matching purple bikini top covered her breasts and a sleeveless, dark blue, ankle-length coat covered the rest of her body. Fingerless black gloves ran up to her elbows and the glitter of multiple rings bounced from her knuckles. This woman also had a jewel hanging from her navel and a silver post in her eyebrow, but this one was on the right side instead of the left.

She stood, leaning against the hood of the car, ankles crossed and barefoot.

Both women held the same kind of weapon the man in front of him held.

"Well," the woman in blue muttered, looking around. "You wanted to see the world we came from. What do you think?"

Itachi tried to speak so that he could mutter a jutsu against the women, but was backhanded by the weapon in the taller man's hand.

"No," the woman in purple scolded. "No jutsus. Bad Itachi! Bad!"

The woman in blue looked at her companion and asked, "So what do you think of the Uchiha's first pistol whip, Mari?"

Mari tilted her head and thought about it. "It's okay for a start," she decided. "But we have at least three days to improve, Ateh Jocelyn."

"Who the hell are you?" Itachi spat on the man in front of him, getting a good-sized blob of blood and saliva on the man's black shirt.

He heard the woman, Mari, whisper, "Ah, _hell _no" before he felt the end of the metal weapon they all had against his temple. She grabbed his hair with her free hand and slammed his head back against the chain-link fence.

"No one spits on my brother," she snarled, holding the cold barrel against his head. "_No _onespits on _my _Kuya!"

Jocelyn called out from her spot by the car. "Oi, Mari! Don't get carried away! He's just an illusion anyway."

Mari snorted and the next moment she was back to lounging on the car as if nothing happened.

"Who are you?" he asked again.

Mari threw her companion a hurt look. "He doesn't know who we are, cousin," she cried.

"Of course he doesn't," Jocelyn responded. "He's in our world now. Let's enlighten him, shall we?"

Both women frowned in concentration for a moment and bright light surrounded them both. When the light cleared, purple/black wings spread from Mari's back while lavender/white wings belonged to Jocelyn. Mari slid off of the roof of the car and stood next to her cousin.

"Recognize us now, Itachi?" she asked.

"Kinabuhi," he breathed. "Ana."

"Not Ana," Jocelyn frowned. "Never call me Ana again, you bastard."

"How…?"

Jocelyn smirked at the Uchiha. "Poor man," she cooed. "Six years you spent with me and still you don't know which demon I hold within my body."

"It's a hawk demon," he said.

"And?" she prompted. When he didn't say anything else, she frowned. "I thought you were smarter than this, Itachi. Hell, Deidara and Sasori figured it out."

"You copied my jutsu," Itachi panted.

"Not just copied, my dear man," Jocelyn grinned. "I mirrored it perfectly."

"Mirror…? You're—"

"That's right," Mari smirked as she clapped her cousin on the back. "Jocelyn is the vessel for the hawk demoness Tsubakikan: demon of Mirrors, Reflections, and Light. She is the twin sister of Tsubakiri: demon of Mist, Illusion and Dark."

"Together they form the strongest source for genjutsu magic in the world," Itachi whispered as he remembered something he read long ago.

Jocelyn nodded and then looked up as if a thought just occurred to her. "How _is_ Sasori by the way?"

"Dead."

She smiled and caressed the side of her weapon. "Good."

Mari tapped her cousin on the shoulder and said, "When you meet up with the physical me, I have a gift for you. Don't ask me now, but trust me, you'll like it."

"Girls," the man, Kuya, remarked. "We could get on with this, y'know."

"Forgive us," Jocelyn said. "There's just so much to talk about when you haven't seen someone for six years." The women smiled and pointed their weapons at the bound Itachi.

"D'you know about Kaguya Kimimaro's _Teshi Sendan _(Finger Bullet Drill)?" Mari asked in a bored voice. "Before he died, of course. Have you seen it?"

"Would you like to see what a _real _bullet from a _real _gun is like?" Jocelyn aimed for Itachi's ankle and pulled the trigger.

Itachi refused to yell as fiery pain spread from his left leg. He looked down and saw the bloodied mass that was his left foot. It felt like someone pushed a hot poker through his flesh and left it there. His leg spasmed and shook.

"You're aim's off, coz," Mari commented. "You hit his foot."

Kuya immediately bent down and bandaged the wound so that Itachi wouldn't pass out or die from the rapid blood loss. That was his purpose in this world of illusion—patch the Uchiha up enough that he didn't die from what his girls were going to do to him.

"Can you do better?" Jocelyn asked, pissed that Mari was right.

"Of course," Mari answered. She calmly raised the gun, aimed, fired, and lowered the weapon in one smooth motion. They both tilted their heads to the right as Itachi's right kneecap exploded with a satisfying sound of crunching bone and torn ligaments.

"You busted an artery," Kuya commented as he ran his hand over Itachi. Dull white light covered his knee and Itachi felt the wound cauterize itself. He still felt the pain, but he wasn't loosing any more blood.

Itachi leaned his head back against the fence and looked up at the blood red moon. He still had around seventy hours of this if he couldn't reverse the jutsu. The feel of a warm muzzle against his left thigh brought his gaze from the moon and onto the woman in front of him.

_Such a small woman, _he thought angrily. Mari barely came up to his shoulder and still, she and her cousin had the power to trap him in his own genjutsu.

"If you think that the pain you're feeling right now is bad," she whispered. "You haven't _felt _pain."

She then pulled the trigger and shot Itachi's thigh at point blank range.

Muscle, blood, and bone splattered everywhere and covered Mari's hand and legs. She didn't mind though. She was the daughter of a surgeon, the sister of a medical genius, and the wife of Sabaku no Gaara. No…blood and guts didn't bother her in the least.

Jocelyn appeared on his other side and he felt her gun against his crotch. His bladder failed him and he noticed the disgusted faces of the women. He only had a second to curse his body before the bullet burned its path through his groin.

She pressed her lips to his ear and smiled. "Consider that payback for the six years you spent raping me in this godforsaken illusion," she whispered. He remained silent, but his eyes screamed his hatred for the demon vessel.

"Hey, Jocelyn," Mari yelled out. The two at the fence looked over and saw that Mari was back in her position by the car. "I bet you a shrimp scampi dinner that I can shoot his ear off from here."

Jocelyn grinned and ran over to her cousin. "Do it hanging upside down and I'll make it all-you-can-eat," she agreed.

Itachi closed his eyes and prayed that Mari would lose the bet.

She didn't.

00000000000000000

Itachi groaned and closed his eyes as the sailboat bobbed gently in the still ocean. From what he could tell, it was now the fifth day he was trapped in this genjutsu. The women tortured him using guns, knives, hot pokers and chains, as well as honey and fire ants.

The Akatsuki member had a whole new respect for the ingenuity and aptitude of Gaara's wife for torture techniques.

Now they were performing their own form of Water Torture on him.

Kuya disappeared around the third day, so he was left to the devices of the two demon vessels. Jocelyn tore all of his bandages off and made sure to open as many of the scabbed wounds as possible. Mari recreated a strip of beach and ocean she called "Santa Monica" and created a sailboat.

Once out to sea, the girls tied ropes around his arms and threw him over the side of the boat.

The salt water stung his wounds and attracted the attention of several sea creatures that thought it would be amusing to play and nibble at the injured man. He knew the stinging of his body was caused by more than the ocean water and his guess was confirmed when Jocelyn and Mari leaned over the side of the boat to look down at him.

"Our water's pretty polluted," Jocelyn admitted.

"The water in your world is better," Mari added. "You respect nature and don't dump all sorts of chemicals into your oceans."

"Chemicals like chlorine or peroxide."

"Or Mercury," Mari added.

"I bet they don't throw out glass and used syringes into their oceans either," Jocelyn murmured.

Mari looked at her cousin and nodded. "They don't," she said. "The water's so blue, Jocy. When you're better and the twins are older, I'll take you all to see it."

"I'll take you up on that offer," Jocelyn laughed at the old nickname. "But first we have to finish with this guy, Mari."

"How many days has it been anyway?"

"Five…" Itachi croaked.

The women frowned. Five days and he could still talk? They obviously didn't do enough damage to the man.

Jocelyn smirked and stood on the deck above Itachi's head. She ran through a series of seals and grinned when the Uchiha recognized the jutsu.

"No…" he whimpered, finally broken.

"Yes," Jocelyn whispered, finally victorious.

"_Suiton: Goshokuzame!" _(Water Release: Five Eating Sharks)

Itachi looked on in horror as five sharks came out of the water and attacked him.

Anguished screams filled the air and no music could be sweeter to the two women on the boat.

00000000000000000

Itachi let go of Ana and fell onto his back. She stared at the man and kicked his side with her foot. When he didn't respond, the woman bent and picked up the bandage he ripped off of her. She retied the black cloth over her damaged eye and turned to the staring shinobi.

"He's in a coma," she stated. "We should bring him with us."

Sakura nodded and together, they all left Kisame and Itachi's apartment.

"You can call me Jocelyn, by the way."

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A/N: **

Story's not over yet…

Sorry guys, but with my schedule and some other problems arising in my life, I can only update this story twice a week—at most.

I know that most of you regular readers like YamiKitsuneKami, Kira, and IceNight009 are used to me updating every weekday, but things are outta my hands right now.

Hope you understand and keep reading this story.

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This space intentionally left blank.


	17. Akatsuki's Revenge

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

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Chapter 17: Akatsuki's Revenge

Tsunade smiled at Shikamaru and Temari. The couple stood before her with anxious expressions on their faces. The blonde Hokage didn't know why the couple was so worried. Although the news of the Suna kunoichi's pregnancy was sudden, it wasn't exactly unexpected.

_It was bound to happen sooner or later, _she laughed.

"Nara Temari," she barked in her 'Hokage Voice.' "You are now a chuunin of Konoha. You will replace your husband as the Strategy and Tactics instructor at the Ninja Academy."

Temari noticeably relaxed at this and Shikamaru blew out a relieved breath.

"I understand that you are a jounin in Suna and I'd _prefer _to make you a jounin," Tsunade explained. "But since you're pregnant and probably want to spend the first few years of your child's life withyour child, being a chuunin teacher is the best alternative. You can choose to take the jounin exams whenever you wish after your baby is born, of course."

"Iie," Temari said, shaking her head and smiling. "Teaching will be fine for now."

"Well then," the Godaime clapped her hands and grinned. "This calls for sake!"

A commotion outside of the office forestalled any other conversation and soon six people burst through the door—two of which were unconscious. It took Tsunade several moments before she found her voice and when she did, it was a shriek that rivaled Yamanaka Ino's.

**_"UCHIHAS?"_**

Naruto winced at the scream and promptly dropped his hold on Sasuke. He made several seals and a red barrier surrounded the entire office, including the waiting room where Kotetsu, Izumo, and Shizune stood. The two male chuunin stared at the blonde in wonder. They knew Naruto was strong, but it seemed that their fate was to be forever surprised by his growth and power.

"I don't think that they heard you over in Bear Country," Gaara remarked dryly.

Tsunade pointed at the two unconscious men on her floor. "What is Uchiha Itachi doing here? And why is Uchiha Sasuke knocked out?"

"I'm afraid both situations are my doing," a female voice answered.

Everyone turned to the owner of the voice. The Konoha shinobi, including the newly appointed Temari and excluding Naruto and Sakura, raised their eyebrows in question. The woman had black hair with pure white bangs and tanned skin; a black bandage over her right eye, and her visible eye was the exact shade of purple as Sabaku no Kinabuhi's eyes.

"Forgive me," the woman apologized. "I am Jocelyn, Kinabuhi's cousin. I was a prisoner of Akatsuki for six years until Uchiha Sasuke freed me."

"Uchiha…" Kotetsu whispered.

"Sasuke?" Izumo finished.

Gaara nodded. "According to the Godaime's wishes, Uchiha Sasuke was banished from Konoha for six years after he was captured by Uzumaki Naruto, Sabaku no Kinabuhi, and myself," he explained. "He remained in Suna for most of those six years until he was placed as a spy within the Akastuki organization."

"Thanks to his efforts and contributions, three Akatsuki members are now dead and Uchiha Itachi is safely in the custody of Konoha," Jocelyn continued. "I believe that this redeems his name enough that he can return to Konoha permanently."

"Uchiha Sasuke has been able to return to Konoha for the past week," Tsunade responded. Kotetsu and Izumo looked at each other in confusion. The story the Kazekage was telling was _true_?

A smile appeared on Tsunade's face. "In fact, Sasuke made a few calls on the village last week." She looked at Kotetsu and her smile grew. "I believe he made someone do a gerbil dance?"

Kotetsu looked at Sasuke in shock.

_That was HIM?_

A large boom sounded and Hyuuga Neji as well as Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba, along with Akamaru, came into the room.

"Hokage-sama!" Kiba yelled. "What happened?"

Naruto frowned. "How'd ya get past my barrier?" he asked.

"That which is made with chakra," Neji began, his hands glowing a soft blue. "Can be destroyed by putting chakra into it."

"Or demolished by ordering chakra consuming insects to eat through your barrier's wall," Shino added. A swarm of bugs flew into the room and then disappeared into the man's coat.

"Huh," Naruto grunted. He tilted his head and Neji got the feeling that the blonde kitsune was storing the information away so that he could either strengthen his barrier or use the knowledge later in battle. Knowing Naruto the as he did, Neji thought that it was probably both.

"Who are you?" Kiba asked the only unfamiliar person in the room. Akamaru growled softly and he absentmindedly placed his hand on the dog's head to make sure he behaved. The woman he posed the question to turned around and he was mesmerized by the prettiest smile he ever had the pleasure to see.

"I am Jocelyn," she answered. Her one purple eye ran over the three men as if they were pieces of delicious candy. She swept her long hair over her shoulder in a way that the females in the room immediately identified as flirtatious.

"You must be Neji, Shino, and Kiba," she purred. "I've heard _so _much about you."

She was about to slink over to Neji when a hand grabbed her wrist. Jocelyn looked down and saw that Sasuke was conscious and was sitting up. Without taking his eyes off of the floor, he signed a short sentence to her and then promptly passed out again.

The woman pouted at Neji, but then proceeded to visually molest Shino and Kiba.

Everyone remained silent during the exchange, but as soon as Sakura knelt to monitor Sasuke's life signs, the men burst into action once more. They shouted at each other while the women quietly conferred over the bodies of the Uchiha brothers.

"How long will he be knocked out?" Tsunade asked, gesturing to the elder Uchiha.

"Should be about two months," Jocelyn answered. "Kina and I put him in his own torture genjutsu for five days." She looked over when a chair crashed next to her. Akamaru sat still as soon as the woman looked at him and gave a small whimper.

"Can we keep him in a coma?" Sakura asked. "Chemically?"

"It's possible," Tsunade frowned. "But we don't have those kind of resources here."

"Sound has the best technology for that sort of thing," Shizune supplied. "But asking them is out of the question. The next best thing is Suna's hospital."

"Their medical program is very advanced," Sakura explained when Jocelyn looked intrigued by the comment. "Kinabuhi has given them many hints and suggestions."

"She would," she nodded.

"What about Sasuke?" Temari put her two cents in. "He'll want Itachi dead."

"Sasuke decided to let go of his thoughts of revenge," Gaara stated.

The women turned around and found that the shouting was finished. Since it was mostly Kiba and Naruto shouting, Shino solved the problem by ordering his bugs to cover their mouths with the order to suck their chakra dry if they so much as whimpered.

"He willingly refused to kill his brother?" Neji questioned.

"Yes," Sakura beamed. "He's decided to go on to the second phase of his dream."

"And that is?"

The pink-haired kunoichi blushed and unconsciously brushed her hand through Sasuke's raven hair.

"Sasuke's second phase is to ensure the revival of his Clan by repopulating the village with little Uchiha brats," Jocelyn smirked. She nudged Sakura with her elbow. "Three guesses who he's gonna ask to help him with that task."

Silence descended on the group once more, but this time it was broken when Itachi's body began to shake and convulse.

Jocelyn turned and placed a glowing lavender hand on Itachi's head. Her visible eye began to glow purple as well. When she was finished, she stood up and stared intently at the Godaime.

"My previous estimate was wrong," she stated. They all stared at the suddenly serious side of the woman. "Uchiha Itachi will only remain in a coma for a few more hours. The Mangekyou Sharingan is stronger than we thought and he _is _a genius. Unless he's attended to regularly by either myself or my cousin, he'll be lucid by nine o'clock tonight and be at battle strength by eleven."

"The best place to keep him would be Suna, then," Temari said. "At least until the council here decides what to do with him. Kina-chan and Jocelyn can alternate shifts in watching him."

"Why not bring Kina here?" Kiba asked, Shino's bugs gone now.

"Because she gave birth to twins last week," Shikamaru spoke for the first time. "You can't ask a woman who just gave birth to leave her home and children."

"And there's also the other matter I spoke to you about, Hokage-sama," Gaara said. Tsunade knew he meant the problem about the Akatsuki rings. "I will need Jocelyn's help in securing and binding the locations."

"My help?" she asked. "I'm not a ninja."

"Yes, you are," Gaara responded. "Kina and I talked about it and we agreed. If I found you competent, then I am to give you this." He held out a forehead protector on a dark purple cloth. The symbol of Suna was etched deeply into the silver metal.

Jocelyn took the hitai-ate and stared down at it. (1) She took the bandage off of her right eye. Gasps sounded as she swept her long bangs behind her ears and the scar Sasori gave her was truly revealed in the sun for the first time. The scar was stark white against her naturally tanned skin.

It began an inch above her right eyebrow, slashed through her right eye and continued downwards, touching the corner of her mouth, traveled down her chin, onto her neck, and ended at her collarbone. Knowing that their pity would only grow if they saw her wounded eye, she kept her eyelid closed over the totally black orb.

She tied the purple sash around her head and slanted it over her injured eye. Jocelyn felt the hitai-ate begin to slip and hooked the lower part over her right ear. It seemed to stop the sliding, but it was uncomfortable. Akamaru felt her unease and bravely licked her hand from his position on the floor.

"Now that I'm officially a shinobi of Suna, what's my mission?" Jocelyn asked after she patted the huge dog on the head.

"It will be explained in detail once you've settled in Suna and seen your cousin as well as your nieces and nephew," Gaara answered.

"Nieces _and _nephew? I thought you only had twins."

"Kina and I have three children. Lilith is our eldest. Maayo and Ayo are the newborns," Gaara explained.

"Gaara," she drawled, her good humor restored. Jocelyn bumped her hip against the Kazekage's and the others noted that she looked like an older version of her cousin. "You stud, you!"

"Sasuke's waking up," Saukra said, watching his face and noticing the frown that etched his features.

Groaning, Sasuke sat up slowly and stared at Jocelyn and Gaara.

"Do you feel that?" he asked, Sharingan activated. He had a sense of foreboding and rubbed his forehead.

Gaara frowned and Jocelyn tilted her head, as if listening for something. Naruto stared at the wall and suddenly let loose a loud growl. The others looked on as shadows passed over the faces of Sasuke, Gaara, Jocelyn, and Naruto as they yelled out in anger and denial. But Gaara's voice was easily the loudest.

"Lilith, NO!"

00000000000000000

Lilith looked at the rings on her father's desk. They were inside a glass box that had all sorts of writing on in and gave off a weird glow, but the three-year-old ignored all of that. She wanted one of those rings—they were pretty.

_The red one, _she decided, reaching for the box. _I want the red one._

The redheaded daughter of the Kazekage grabbed the box and opened it. Her latent powers automatically broke the seals placed on it and her demon started yowling in her mind. She paused with her fingers curled around her prize.

_What's wrong? _Lilith asked her cat demon, Akakuro. (2)

_Let me out! _Akakuro shouted. The red and black demon slashed at the air in the girl's mind with sharp claws. _Give me the ring and LET ME OUT!_

"Lilith!" Kina shouted from the doorway. "What are you doing?"

The girl jerked at the mixture of disapproval and fear in her mother's voice and turned, dropping the box of rings in the process. However, her grip on the red ring tightened and the jewelry slipped easily onto her thumb.

She had a strange feeling of sinking before her vision blurred and red ears and a black tail appeared on her small body. Her canines sharpened and her nails grew into small claws. Lilith stared at her mother through slit eyes and vaguely heard her scream.

"Lilith, NO!"

00000000000000000

"We have to get to Suna, NOW!" Sasuke demanded. He jumped up and looked at Tsunade.

"My apartment's closer than the cave," Sakura said, grabbing his arm. "We'll use the archway there."

"Neji, Kiba, Shino," Tsunade stated. "You will accompany them and follow Uchiha Sasuke's orders. Naruto, you're the fastest. Find Kakashi and join the others as soon as you can. Shikamaru, you will be the fourth member of Neji's team."

"What about Sasuke's team?" he asked.

"That's why Naruto's getting Kakashi," Gaara snapped. The blonde was already gone and if they didn't leave soon, the kitsune would get to his daughter before Gaara himself did.

"What about him?" Kotetsu wondered, pointing at Itachi.

"Send him to Rock country for all I care," Sasuke snarled, as impatient as Gaara. "My goddaughter is in trouble, so let's _GO _already!" No one argued when he burst through the window and headed for Sakura's apartment.

"Temari," Gaara ordered as they jumped over the rooftops. "You will take the twins to Kankuro's and stay there with them."

"But—"

"I agree," Shikamaru said. He shot a stern look at his wife. "It's troublesome, but you need to be safe. The twins need someone and you're it. Don't argue with me on this, Temari."

The blonde kunoichi shut her mouth and nodded.

When they reached the apartment, Sakura took the curtain off of her wall and ordered everyone to cut their thumbs.

"So that's what was under there," Shino murmured.

"Shut up and give me your blood," she growled. They pooled their blood onto the palm of her hand and she slammed it onto Suna's symbol.

"_Jikoku Tabi no Jutsu!" _(Instant Journey Technique)

They appeared in the dojo of the Kazekage Mansion. Temari immediately ran out a side door and headed for the nursery. If the twins weren't there, she'd head over to her brother's house. Kankuro might already be there guarding the twins.

Screams and the sound of breaking furniture echoed through the building and the group ran to the source of the massive chakra they were all feeling. When they reached Gaara's office, they were stunned to see Kina in her half-demon form facing a transformed, twenty-year-old Lilith.

Lilith's red hair was as long as her mother's and rippled down to her ankles to cover her new, mature body. Her violet eyes had black, slit-like pupils and sharp canines slipped over her bottom lip. Red cat ears lay on the top of her head and a silky black tail whipped back and forth behind her.

Kina folded her left wing over her body as Lilith yowled at her, blocking the shockwave of her daughter's voice. Her purple-black wings gleamed in the late afternoon sun as she stood her ground. She looked at the group by the door and gave them a fanged smile.

"You might want to turn into your half-demon forms as well," she said to Gaara and Jocelyn. Her voice echoed with the power of her demon, Tsubakiri. "Things are going to get serious soon. Where are Naruto and Kyuubi?"

"They're on their way," Sasuke yelled to his foster sister. Kina nodded in acknowledgement and turned to her husband.

Gaara nodded and let Shukaku take partial control of his body. Sand collected around him and created a long raccoon tail and ears on his body. Claws and fangs soon sprouted and he grew taller by several inches. His light green eyes became translucent as he stared at his daughter.

Jocelyn closed her eyes and concentrated. Her white bangs became streaked with lavender as white and lavender wings tore through her back. She felt her hair brush her ankles and her hands become talons. Her eyes became tilted in the same way Kina's were and she noticed that her eyesight sharpened as well.

They stood next to Kina and looked at the cat demon in front of them.

"She's gone into a berserker rage," Gaara noted. Shukaku gave his voice extra weight as the dual tones reached the shinobi still by the door. "Where's Kankuro?"

"With the twins at his home," Kina answered. She looked over at Jocelyn and grinned. "Sorry we couldn't have a nice quiet reunion, but this needs our attention."

"I understand," Jocelyn replied. "Tsubakikan was anxious to see her sister again anyway."

Kina nodded and ducked as Lilith sent another shockwave at them. This time, it was Gaara's sand that protected them.

"I'm sorry that my daughter isn't more behaved," she said, sending a score of feathers with binding seals on them at her enraged daughter. Lilith cut through them with a swipe of her claws and sneered at her mother's pathetic attempt to bind her.

Jocelyn nodded and blocked a shockwave that was aimed for the group behind the demons with her right wing. The lavender-white feathers absorbed the energy before shooting it back at the girl with twice the force it had before.

"I remember some of the more spectacular tantrums we threw," Jocelyn said, narrowing her eyes when Lilith dodged the blast and blew a large hole through Gaara's bookcase.

"_Sabaku Kyuu!" _(Desert Coffin)

"It's not her fault," Gaara said, trapping Lilith in a cocoon of sand. "Shukaku says that she's wearing one of Akatsuki's rings."

Everyone ducked when Lilith broke through her father's sand coffin and covered their ears when she shouted again.

"Oh, yeah," Jocelyn told her cousin. "She's _definitely _your daughter."

"Welcome to the family, then," Gaara said. He ran forward and dodged his daughter's claws. He almost got close enough to take the ring from her, but hesitated when he looked into her purple eyes.

Her mother's eyes.

"GAARA!" Kina screamed.

Lilith screeched at her father. The force sent him flying back and slammed him through the wall of his office and into the hallway.

Kina turned to her daughter and frowned.

"That is _it _missy!" she yelled. "You are _so _grounded after this!"

Lilith laughed and smirked at Kina. "There is so much power here," she said. Akakuro's voice was smooth and sweet when joined with her host's. "Mother, put on one of those pretty stones. We can take everything we need." Harsh laughter sounded through the room. "And everything we don't."

"I'm taking that ring from you, Lilith," Kina said. She ran to attack her daughter when she heard Naruto's voice behind her.

"Don't!" he yelled. "Don't touch the ring!"

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A/N: **

Another cliffhanger…I'm evil.

**(1) **_Hitai-ate _is the forehead protector. _Hitai _means "forehead." The suffix _–ate_ means "addressed to."

**(2) **Lilith's demon is a demon cat called Akakuro. _Aka _is "red" and _kuro _is "black."


	18. Shinobi Secrets

**Disclaimer: **Hi! What am I doing? I'm not owning Naruto, that's what I'm doing.

**A/N: **I'm ssssooooo sorry about the long update…it's been a week right? Again, things are happening in my life that are a bit stressful. Enjoy this chapter though!

**

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Chapter 18: Shinobi Secrets

"Don't touch the ring!"

Kina paused and Naruto used the opportunity to pick her up and place her next to Gaara with a speed that rivaled Lee's.

"Why not?" Jocelyn asked, blocking another attack from the enraged girl.

"We got new information about the rings," Kakashi answered, interested in the strange one-eyed Suna kunoichi. "The jewels are attuned to demon chakra. It causes anyone with a drop of demon blood to gain at least ten times the chakra from before. And for someone with a demon inside them…well, they go berserk."

"So if one of us touch it…" Gaara concluded, gesturing to Kina, Jocelyn, and Naruto.

"You'll become as crazy as your daughter," Kakashi finished.

"So it's up to us to stop her," Shino stated.

"Alright!" Kiba yelled, pumping his fist. Beside him, Akamaru half growled, half whimpered. After all, he was a dog; Lilith was a _cat _demon. It was the demon part of Lilith that worried the canine.

"Don't hurt her too badly," Kina warned. "Or you can kiss any chances of having puppies goodbye."

Sasuke stood from his crouched position near the remains of Gaara's bookcase and looked over at his foster sister. She gasped when he revealed his fierce red Sharingan.

"Sasuke-kun…" she whispered.

"Trust me, Kina-chan," he said.

"Come on!" Naruto tugged on the sleeves of both Kina and Gaara. "I'll teach you the seals for my barrier. We can't have Suna destroyed over this. Jocelyn, you're coming too."

"Lead the way, fox boy," she said, slinging another one of Lilith's attacks back at her and placing an arm around his waist.

Lilith was sick and tired of being ignored by her parents and their friends. Akakuro was interested in the kitsune before her and raged at the hawk demon's familiar contact with the blonde. She scooped up the ring with the yellow stone and ran at the couple, screaming.

"_Tsuuga!" _(Piercing Fang)

The deranged three turned twenty-year old slammed into the wall when Kiba hit her with his attack. She fell to her knees and snapped her head to look at the man. He stood a few meters from her with a smug grin on his face. Next to him stood a large white dog.

Dog… 

Akakuro finally, _totally,_ lost it.

"_Kamaitachi no Jutsu!" _(Slashing Wind Technique)

She swept her tail in front of her and yowled at her enemies. Lilith didn't notice the absence of her parents, all she saw was the white coat of the dog in front of her. The redhead was happy when the man and dog got hit by her attack and forced back to the other end of the room. She stood up and took a step toward the fallen man. She was in the center of the room when she saw a shadow creeping toward her.

"Nice try, Shikamaru-niichan," she laughed. Lilith performed a series of seals and held out her hands.

"_Kokuangyo no Jutsu!" _(Bringer-Of-Darkness Technique)

She smirked as pitch black, darkness enveloped the room. Her eyes could see her enemies perfectly. Her mind recognized the faces and placed names to the people who threatened her existence. Shikamaru couldn't use shadows if there was no light. Now she just had to deal with her other enemies.

Kiba, the man with the dog, was still knocked out at the other end of the room. Akamaru stood in front of his master, protecting him from the demon.

Sakura and Sasuke were to her right. The Uchiha hand his hand on Sakura's arm and was tracing something onto her skin. She nodded and moved cautiously towards the bank of windows.

Shino stood to her left, his bugs floating in the air around him, but was unfazed by the total darkness. Shikamaru stood with Neji by the door, the latter had his Byakuugan activated and stared straight at her.

_The Hyuuga first, _Akakuro hissed in her mind. _He's too dangerous._

Lilith nodded and ran at the two men by the door. Her fist connected with Neji's stomach, but his fingers hit a spot on her shoulder. She vaguely heard him whisper _"Jyuuken" _when he hit her. Luckily, her instincts and reflexes kicked in and she backflipped away from him before he could hit any other pressure points.

"What the hell?" she wondered when her jutsu began to lighten around them. She turned back to the Hyuuga and remembered that he could attack her chakra circulatory system.

_**How the hell could you forget that?** _Akakuro growled.

_Shut up, you're acting like a bitch. You know that? _Lilith replied, already going through several hand seals. She ignored her demon's insulted hiss at being compared to a dog.

"_Oni Kiai: Kaze no Yaiba!" _(Demon Scream: Blade of Wind)

Lilith yelled once more at Neji and ran forward. Shikamaru stopped his seal sequence to brace himself for the onslaught, instinct causing him to forget the plan. Neji smirked and got into his Jyuuken stance once more. He underestimated the power of Lilith's wind blade and ducked a second too late. The blade stabbed through his shoulder, right where Kidomaru's arrow struck when he was a teenager.

The redhead smiled when she scented the blood in the air and prepared to slash through the rest of the man, but another wind blade forced her back.

"_Kaze no Yaiba!" _Sasuke yelled. The darkness jutsu let up enough that he could vaguely see where everyone was and his red eyes glowed in the gloom. He saw Sakura nod to him and barely nodded back. He hoped she would get the timing down on this attack; otherwise she'd be hurt as well.

"_Doton: Doryu Taiga!" _(Earth Element: Earth Flow River)

"_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" _(Fire Element: Grand Fireball Technique)

Lilith's eyes widened as Sakura's jutsu caused the floor beneath her to become mud and slowly felt herself sinking into the pit. Sasuke's attack followed before she could react and all she could do was brace herself as the flames covered her body. She smelled burning hair and fur and growled low in her throat. Blindly, she shot a blast of wind in Sasuke's direction.

"_Oni Kiai!" _(Demon Scream)

She placed her hands on the floor and tried to escape from the dried mud she was trapped in. Sasuke's attack baked the wet earth until it molded to the girl's legs. She felt strong arms place her in a headlock and cover her mouth. Bugs she didn't notice before crawled out of her clothing and onto her arms. She felt her chakra weaken as the jutsu finally disappeared and light returned to the room.

Sasuke knelt in front of his goddaughter and shook his head. The girl was struggling, but with Sakura's strength holding her as well as Shikamaru's shadow bind technique, she wasn't going anywhere.

"Tend to Kiba and Neji," he told Shino. He turned toward the man who sat calmly in the corner. "Kakashi thank you for protecting me and Sakura from the worst of that darkness jutsu. I need your help for this next part though."

Kakashi stood up and stared at the girl/woman/demon before them. Her hands clenched into fists and made taking the ring difficult. He knew what Sasuke was going to ask him, but he had to decline.

"I can't hypnotize her," he admitted. "Even with my Mangekyou Sharingan, I'm not powerful enough to do it."

"I wasn't going to ask you to do it," Sasuke said, still staring at his niece. "Watch my chakra levels for me, sensei."

That was all the warning the Copy-Nin had before the Uchiha activated Jocelyn's gift to him and grabbed Lilith's chin to force her gaze to his. Purple eyes met bloody red as the dark pinwheels in Sasuke's eyes began to spin.

"_Tsukuyoumi." _(Moon Reader)

"Mangekyou…Sharingan," Lilith managed to whisper before she fell under the genjutsu.

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Lilith found herself in an empty black space. She could see the outline of her body in white and looked up to find a dark gray sky and bright red moon. She heard of the Mangekyou Sharingan; or rather, she _over_heard people talking about it. The girl was still in her half-demon form, which meant that she was in a twenty-year-old body instead of her true three-year-old one.

"Will you give me the ring, Lilith-chan?" a deep voice echoed through the space.

Lilith's hair spun around her as she tried to find the owner of the voice. She vowed to find the owner and force him to get her out of the genjutsu and back to her body.

"It's mine!" she shouted into the oblivion. "The ring is mine!"

"No it is not, Lilith-chan," Sasuke stated. "You know full well that it is not yours." He allowed the words to echo once more and smirked at his goddaughter's reaction. He was going easy on her. He knew her weaknesses and fears. With such ammunition, he could easily break the girl. But Lilith was his goddaughter and he would never harm her.

Unless she harmed their family first, that is.

"Where did you get the ring, Lilith?" he asked, dropping the –_chan_. The girl shivered at the omission. Even with her demon possessing most of her thoughts and actions, she felt the disapproval and disappointment that prompted the lack of the term of affection.

"Daddy's desk," she answered, using her original voice—the voice of a three-year-old girl.

"It was in a glass box," Sasuke described. "Covered in seals and protected by a jutsu that shocks anyone who touches the box without permission." As he spoke, Gaara's desk appeared in the blank space in front of Lilith. The box containing the Akatsuki rings glowed a dull red on the black desk.

"Yes," she answered. She raised her hand to touch the box, but when she came within touching distance, the desk flew back several feet.

"You're a smart girl, Lilith," Sasuke continued. It felt awkward calling her that name without adding the suffix, but she needed to give him the ring and she needed to do it without him damaging too much of her psyche.

"You know that the things on your father's desk are off limits. Those things are shinobi business."

"But they were so pretty."

Lilith looked around her, still looking for the voice, unaware that Akakuro retreated back into her mind and that she was now in her normal body. Sasuke noticed though and immediately created some new clothes for the girl.

"Do you tell others about the things you hear in the Mansion, Lilith?"

"No."

"And why not?"

"Because shinobi secrets stay between the shinobi who share them," she answered using the sentence so often repeated to her.

Sasuke nodded from his hiding place above the girl. He delved into her mind and pulled out the memory of the day Lilith told the entire Sabaku family something she overheard Sakura talking about. It was best that he use this memory rather than a more serious one. Compared to the others in the girl's mind, he _could _havechosen one more violent or one with a sadder outcome, but again, he didn't want to unduly damage her psyche.

Sasuke grimaced and then smiled ruefully at the reminder of how the three-year-old blurted out the pink-haired kunoichi's plans to finally rid herself of her virginity with a partner who definitely was _not _Sasuke. Lilith practically put everyone in a comatose state that day—everyone except Kankuro, that is. But then again, Kankuro was a very _unique _individual.

It seemed so long ago, but only seven months had passed since that day.

Lilith's eyes widened as the drawing room of the Mansion appeared before her. She saw her Aunt Temari sitting on the couch and noticed a small girl standing near the door. She gasped when the illusions began to talk.

"_Lilith," Temari began. "Sit next to me." She waited until Lilith sat next to her on the couch and sighed. "Do you remember the time when you heard me and your Mama talking about the man from the Mist?"_

_Lilith nodded solemnly. "You said I should try to forget everything you said and if anyone asked me, I should say that I don't know."_

_Temari nodded and smiled. "Do you remember why we told you to say that?"_

"_You're shinobi of Suna," Lilith answered dutifully. "Shinobi secrets stay between the shinobi who share them."_

"_That's right. Now, what are Sakura and Tenten besides your honorary aunties?"_

"_Um…Shinobi of Konoha—like Shikamaru-niichan."_

"_And what were you supposed to be doing while they were talking?"_

_Lilith looked down. "Napping."_

"_So when they were talking, it was like they were sharing a secret," Temari explained. "What shinobi say to each other has to stay between them, Lilith. Or else missions might fail and people might die. If you heard something between your Mama and Daddy and repeated it to the wrong person, one or both of them could be hurt. They could die because a person said something to someone they shouldn't have."_

_Lilith shook at the possibility that either of her parents could be hurt and laid her head down in her aunt's lap. Temari stroked the hair that was so much like her dear brother's and sighed. She hated using that example, but the 3-year-old was too much like her father—meaning that she was almost too smart for her own good. _

_She needed to know the importance of keeping secrets until she was old enough to use her mind to determine which secrets needed to be kept and which needed to be told._

"_Do you understand that, Lilith?"_

"_Yes, Auntie Temeki."_

The scene changed into the one that just occurred in her father's office. Lilith's jaw dropped as she saw herself in her half-demon form. Tears ran down her face when she watched her father fly through the wall and saw the small trickle of blood that came from his mouth. She began to sob when she witnessed Neji get stabbed by her own wind blade.

"This is what happens when you don't follow orders, Lilith," Sasuke stated. He hardened his heart against the girl's tears. She needed to know the importance of her actions. It didn't matter if she was three-years-old or fifty. As the daughter of the strongest shinobi in her village she _had _to understand the rules.

"I didn't have any orders," she sobbed.

"Shinobi secrets…" he started the edict once more.

"Stay between the shinobi who share them," she finished.

She stared at the ring on her thumb and felt Akakuro purr at the pretty stone. Lilith shouted at her demon and replayed the vision she saw for the cat demon. She felt Akakuro shudder in her mind at the reminder of when Shukaku and Tsubakiri snarled at her during the fight—they sounded as if they _hated _her.

"Your father is the Kazekage, Lilith. Everything in his office is a shinobi secret until he shares it with you," Sasuke repeated. "And he _will _share some of them with you when you become one yourself."

"But how will they let me become a ninja now?" Lilith cried into her hands. She fell onto her knees and felt warm arms surround her. "They'll never let me be a ninja now."

"Shh…" a soft, familiar voice soothed. Tanned hands ran over the girl's hair and the scent of clovers and mint drifted down to reach her sensitive nose. "Don't worry, Lilith-chan. You'll still be a ninja."

"Temeki-neechan," Lilith whispered. She raised her head and met the familiar face of her aunt. She shook with relief and threw herself at the woman. "Where were you? They said that you would be killed and might become a missing nin."

Sasuke laughed in Temeki's body and the sound echoed like bells in the dark world of the genjutsu. Sasuke wouldn't admit it to anyone except Sakura, but it felt good to be in his female body, even if it was only in an illusion.

"And who said that, imp?" she asked.

Lilith hiccupped and smiled into her aunt's neck. "I can't tell you that, Temeki-neechan," she answered. "Those are shinobi secrets."

Temeki nodded and took Liltih's hand. "Lilith-chan, will you give me the ring now?"

"Yes."

00000000000000000

"They've been under for a full minute now," Kina worried. "It's not supposed to take this long."

Jocelyn placed a soothing hand on her cousin's shoulder. "Chicken-butt is new to this, coz," she soothed. Naruto snorted at the apt description of Sasuke's hairstyle.

Kina nodded, but clutched her husband closer to her body. All four demon vessels felt the moment Sasuke took Lilith into the genjutsu and came running from various positions of the protective barrier they created. Jocelyn and Sakura administered first aid to Neji and Kiba, while Gaara and Kina looked over their daughter and foster brother with fear in their eyes.

"His chakra isn't effected much and Lilith's body is back to normal. They'll come out of it soon," Naruto added. Inside his mind, Kyuubi was laughing behind his cage.

**_Chicken-butt…_**Kyuubi no Kitsune sighed, wiping the tears from his eyes. **_Good one. I like Tsubakikan's vessel. She's easy on the eyes and was checking your ass out earlier. Let's—_**

_NO! _Naruto interrupted his demon's sentence. _We're with Hinata now. Remember her? _

Kyuubi licked his lips. **_You mean flexible girl? Oh, yeah…_**

Naruto shook his head and smiled, discreetly wiping at a small trickle of blood that formed on his upper lip thanks to his memories of Hinata. He growled at the demon fox when Kyuubi added a few scenes that definitely did not play into the couple's first night together.

He never let on that Kyuubi was more perverted than Kakashi, Ero-sennin, and old man Sarutobi combined. The blonde felt it was his duty to thwart the combined influences of all of his teachers and be as _anti-_perverted as possible. But sometimes…

"They're waking up," Kakashi said, pulling everyone from of their thoughts.

Sasuke woke up first and quickly took the Akatsuki ring from Lilith's thumb. He noticed that she was holding Deidara's topaz Akatsuki ring and took that one as well. He gave them both to Kakashi, who placed them back into the glass box they were sealed in along with the other two they found in the rubble.

Gaara waited impatiently for the Uchiha to remove the rings before he scooped up his daughter and held her close in his arms. Kina's arms ran over Lilith, looking for major injuries. When she smiled softly, the tension melted from the Kazekage's body and he slid to the floor, taking Kina and Lilith with him.

"Daddy?" Lilith asked in a small voice.

"Lilith-chan," Kina exclaimed in relief. "You scared us. You probably shortened our lives by twenty years. Don't do that ever, _ever _again."

Gaara buried his face in his daughter's hair and smiled against her ear. "You're probably going to frighten us again and again considering your temper and the fact that we're your parents," he whispered gently. "But at least try not to scare your mother and refrain from letting Akakuro out to play until you become a genin, huh?"

"You'll let me be a ninja and fight for Suna?" Lilith asked, wide-eyed. "Even after _this?_"

"You won't believe the things I did when I was younger," Gaara chuckled and kissed her ear. "When you're older, I'll tell you all about it."

Kina heard every word of the exchange, but pretended not to. She wouldn't object to Lilith becoming a shinobi if that's what the child wanted, but that didn't make the sharp stab of fear leave her stomach. No matter what, a mother will _always_ worry for her child.

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A/N: **

I can't say that I'm entirely happy about how this chapter is written. Everything I've written this week has been utter crap…even my reports for school.

All I can say is I'm sorry…I might fix it later, but then again, I might not.

The story's still not finished by the way.


	19. Rings and Travels

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

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Chapter 19: Rings and Travels

Everyone who participated in the incident in Gaara's office was present—with the exception of Lilith, of course. Temari remained in Suna—taking care of the children. Kankuro stood by his brother's side.

They all agreed that the Akatsuki rings should be sealed and hidden away. Jocelyn was all for destroying the rings until nothing but dust remained. Kiba and Kakashi agreed with her, but when they tried, the rings refused to so much as crack. So here they were, in Tsunade's office, staring at the four Akatsuki rings.

"I thought you recovered five," Tsunade commented.

"Deidara and Sasori were sent to get the ring Orochimaru had," Sakura explained.

"Apparently they failed," Naruto added.

"So we just have to decide where to hide these rings," Sasuke concluded.

Everyone stared at the box containing the rings until Kina spoke.

"It's too bad we can't use the rings' power," she said. "We could protect our villages better if we could harness our demons' energy more efficiently."

"Don't even _think _about that, coz," Jocelyn warned. "Remember what happened to Middle Earth? Those rings are bad news—no two ways about it. They need to be separated and sealed away."

"Middle Earth?" Kiba asked in confusion.

"Never mind," the two girls said.

"Four teams then," Gaara suggested. "With one of the demon vessels acting as guard for the other members of the team."

"We'll need to put them in places where most shinobi can't get them. We also have to make sure that common people won't stumble upon them," Neji said.

"As deep underground as possible," Kakashi added. "Perhaps with a natural barrier surrounding it."

Tsunade snapped her fingers and pointed to several places on the map she had hanging behind her.

"These locations are ideal," she said.

Kakashi nodded and took out four glass boxes. Jocelyn stared and wondered where the man got them. He placed each ring in a box and he, Tsunade, Gaara, and Kankuro placed seals on each box. When they nodded to each other, Gaara took control of the meeting.

"Kinabuhi, you will take Kankuro and Shikamaru with you to the closest target. After that, I want you to go back to Suna—"

"But—"

"Lilith will be missing you," Gaara explained. Kina couldn't argue with that and leaned against the wall. "Naruto, take your old teammates to the southwest target."

"Alright!" Naruto pumped his fist. "I get to see nee-chan again!" The others—most of whom didn't know who the blonde was talking about—shrugged and looked back at Gaara for more orders.

"Jocelyn will take Shino and Kiba—"

"_**YES!"**_

"—to the eastern target," Gaara continued, ignoring the girl's joyful shout. "Jocelyn, please stop grinning like that. It's disturbing."

Jocelyn wiped the grin off of her face. When Gaara said something was disturbing, then it was _really _disturbing. But she let a small giggle escaper her lips anyway.

_My bishies, _she chanted in her head. _My lovely, lovely bishies._

"Kakashi, Neji, and I will head for the northeast target. Once the rings are dealt with, head back here. Except for Kinabuhi's team. Shikamaru will return here after he picks up Temari."

"This is an S-class mission for everyone," Tsunade declared. "Those of you who have demons inside them—don't touch the rings. Everyone else, good luck and head out!"

"Are we all walking?" Jocelyn asked as everyone filed out of the room.

"Yes," Naruto answered. "We try not to use the portals too much. The Akastuki mission was the only reason we used them in the first place. They don't drain chakra, but the pulse from them affects plant life. I just found that out three days ago, so I have to fix it. Today was an emergency, but no more using them until I can tweak the jutsu a bit."

"It's not that far anyway," Kiba said, studying his map. "Just two days and besides, we've been there before." The others started down the stairs to get their packs and supplies. Sasuke used a teleportation jutsu to go ahead to the main gate, since he didn't want to be seen by the villagers just yet.

"Alright," Jocelyn said. "At least I'll get to walk around and see the sun again. But it's awfully bright out today."

"Where did they keep you?" Shikamaru asked. It wasn't really bright outside. In fact, it was somewhat cloudy.

"In the caves," she answered. She ignored the looks she was getting and turned to Kakashi. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and put away his orange book. "Yes?"

"How do you keep the forehead protector from sliding down?" she asked, tugging her own up. "I want to keep my damaged eye covered and I don't like eye patches."

"Well the trick is…"

00000000000000000

"Is this the place?" Kankuro asked Shikamaru. Kina's team stood at the edge of a small, rocky, island in the center of an active volcano. The puppet master turned to stare at the imposing edifice of Konoha's Maximum Security Prison. "And if it is, is it safe to hide the ring here?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Most of the inmates are former shinobi, true," he said. "But they're watched ruthlessly. Here's as good a place as any."

"Not like many of them will go swimming in a pool of lava for the ring," Kina smirked.

Kankuro took the ring box out of his pocket and glanced at his companions. Shikamaru's plan was for Kankuro to use his chakra strings and bury the sealed container into the molten lava that surrounded the prison. Kina's job was to monitor the location of the ring and make sure that it was buried as deep as possible. Shikamaru stood by; ready to bind Kina if anything went wrong and her demon chose to go after the cursed stone.

"Let's do this," Kina clapped her hands together and her brothers-in-law nodded in agreement.

00000000000000000

"Isaribi-neechan!"

Naruto waved at the brunette woman standing on the dock from his position on the small boat Sasuke rented for the trip. Sakura looked at the girl in speculation. The blonde never gave a full explanation to her or Sasuke on how and why he was friends with someone from the small and remote Ocean Country. In fact, Naruto turned out to be unusually silent on the matter. All he said was that she would help them get rid of the Akatsuki ring with no questions asked.

When the boat reached the dock, Naruto jumped off the deck and expertly tied the ropes to anchor the ship. Sasuke raised his eyebrows at Sakura. Apparently, the blonde was familiar enough with the action to look like one of the fishermen that came to greet them. The two jumped off of the ship and joined their teammate—who was hugging the brunette and talking her ear off.

"These are my teammates, nee-chan," he said, gesturing to Sakura and Sasuke. "The one who look like he just drank brine is Sasuke-teme and the one with the pink hair is Sakura-chan."

Isaribi held out her hand and giggled. "It's so nice to finally meet you, guys," she said softly. "Naruto's told me so much about you whenever he visits that I feel as if I know you myself."

Something about her reminded Sasuke of both Naruto and Hinata, but the raven-haired heir couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.

"Visits?" Sakura asked, still curious.

"Eh-heh," Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his head. "I come here at least once a year when Tsunade-baachan gives me my mandatory vacations. Nee-chan always puts me up when I come over."

"He acted as my father the day I got married and walked me down the aisle," Isaribi added, looking fondly at the blue-eyed man. "He even threatened Toya in front of everyone before he let him take my hand."

"He had to know that if he messes up, he'll answer to me," Naruto frowned and cracked his knuckles. He looked over at a tall fisherman with dark red hair and kind eyes, and then he walked up to him and slapped the fisherman on the back. "And have you messed up yet, Toya-niisan?"

The fisherman laughed and slapped Naruto on _his _back, causing the blonde to stagger on the dock. "Not yet, Naruto-kun. Not yet."

Isaribi noticed the looks of relief on the faces of her friend's teammates, but for the most part ignored it. She had a question for her honorary "father" and she wanted the answer before he stepped foot off of the dock.

"So, Naruto," she said, casually looking at her fingernails. "Did you make a move on Hinata yet? Ino's last letter said that you were taking your sweet time about things."

"Move?" Sasuke asked.

"Ino?" Sakura jumped on the mention of her friends' name. "What does Ino have to do with this?"

Naruto laughed nervously and sent a small glare at Isaribi. "Well—"

"You know Hinata, I assume?" Isaribi asked the two shinobi. When they nodded, she continued, all the while ignoring Naruto's blabbering. "Well, our little kitsune here has had the hots for her for the past six years. Ever since some sort of Summer Festival apparently, but he could never find the guts to actually ask the girl out on a date. He keeps telling me that he'll ask her out when he gets back to Konoha, but he never does. At least, that's what Ino tells me. And when he comes back, he _still _hasn't gone out with the girl."

"They went out a couple of weeks ago," Sasuke informed the woman. He glanced at Naruto and noticed that his face was extremely red. "Ever since the Summer Festival six years ago, huh? You sure are slow, dobe."

"Hey!"

"Why don't we discuss this inside, hmm?" Sakura asked. "We need to get the mission done as soon as possible. Now, Isaribi-chan, how do you know Ino?" Sakura linked arms with Isaribi and led the group to the shore.

"Well, I met Naruto first. He was here on a mission and Ino was part of his team at the time…"

00000000000000000

Neji and Kakashi stood in front of a large group of trees. Only these trees were strange. Instead of wood, the trunks seemed to be made of bone. The entire field was filled with similar trees. They shot up from the sandy ground like bamboo shoots and looked like the dead limbs of a petrified forest. Gaara stood closer to the _real _trees of the forest behind him, his arms crossed in front of his chest and an unreadable look in his eyes.

"This is the place," the Kazekage declared emotionlessly. The trip was shorter than the last time he came to this place. But then again, the last time he was here, he was rushing all the way from Suna to aid the Konoha genin in retrieving their comrade. Emotion and time must have blurred his sense of time. Gaara looked over the forest of bones and ruthlessly repressed a shudder.

If Kimimaro had held out fifteen seconds longer, Gaara would've died that day.

Kakashi summoned Pakkun and ordered the dog to place the ringbox with the Akatsuki ring in the center of the strange strand of bone trees. Neji followed the dog's progress with his Byakuugan and nodded when Pakkun was safely away from the object. Gaara held out his hands and concentrated.

When his chakra touched the ringbox, Shukaku murmured inside his head, but otherwise remained calm.

"_Gokusamaiso." (Prison Sand Burial)_

Neji watched, and Kakashi heard, the sand beneath the ringbox move and bury the item quickly and efficiently. When the Hyuuga could no longer "see" the box he turned to Gaara and nodded.

"It's now two hundred meters underground," Gaara said. "Even if someone were to cut down Kimimaro's Field, they would have a hard time finding it."

The white-eyed man blinked and gave the signal to head back to Konoha. Gaara followed and Kakashi trailed behind after he thanked Pakkun for his help. The jounin looked at his "teammates" and sighed. Pakkun's parting words remained in his mind.

"Talkative bunch," the pug smirked at his summoner. "Have fun on the way back home and don't spill too many secrets."

_Smartass dog. _

00000000000000000

"That was interesting."

"Shut up, Sakura."

Sakura stared at her teammates and suppressed a giggle. The two men in her life she loved more than anything turned to her with identical frowns. She went back to the mission scroll she was writing for Tsunade and inhaled the fresh scent of the ocean. They finished their mission and, after a large breakfast courtesy of Isaribi and her husband, were now sailing back to the continent and home to Konoha.

"Are you sure you can't heal these wounds?" Naruto asked.

"Nope," Sakura answered. "My specific field is emergency care and triage on abdominal wounds. Don't worry, those are just superficial and will heal on their own."

"So you're saying that it's a waste of chakra to heal us," Sasuke translated. "Because I know you can. You just _won't._"

"Bingo!"

"At least no one will find the ring," Naruto said. "Even if someone dove down to the bottom of the reef…"

"And survived the currents," Sasuke continued. "And found that specific coral formation—"

"And got past those irate lobsters," Sakura interrupted without looking up from the scroll.

Naruto and Sasuke both growled at their teammate and Sakura burst out laughing. Isaribi, Sasuke, and Naruto took care of the ring while Sakura stayed above the water in their boat, ready to administer first aid if it was needed. They found the perfect hiding spot for the Akastuki ring, complete with natural guardians to protect it.

Naruto stopped growling first and began to laugh. The blonde was always good at finding laughter in the escapades he goes through. Sasuke tried to hold on to his usual stoic self, but the past six years he spent with Kina and her family in Suna mellowed the Uchiha out tremendously. His husky laughter joined in and soon the sound of gulls was drowned out by the people on the small boat. The trio drifted off into silence while Naruto expertly sailed their way back home.

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A/N:**

I am ssssoooo sorry about the late update. My life isn't going so well right now and I've been separated from _any _kind of decent computer for the past two weeks…

The next chapter will be up sooner than this one (I hope) and I'll be back at home soon. Please read and review!


	20. Life Goes On

**Disclaimer:** Me no ownie. 

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Chapter 20: Life Goes On**

"Well it looks like the only team we need to wait for is Shino's team," Tsunade informed the ninja grouped into her office. The other three teams—with the exception of Kina, who was back in Suna—reported their mission success to the Hokage and now waited for her next orders.

Gaara and Kankuro bowed to the blonde woman.

"Thank you for helping us when we needed it," Gaara said. "My family owes you all a great debt. But we must get back to Suna. Kinabuhi will be waiting and we must check on the status of Uchiha Itachi."

"You don't mind keeping him in Suna?" Sasuke asked.

Kankuro turned to the raven-haired man and shook his head. "Suna is the best prison for him," he stated. "Not only do we have the technology to keep him in a coma, we have Kina. She can slip through the bastard's mind and learn all of his secrets."

"You won't demand that he be killed, right, Sasuke?" Tsunade wondered. "I understand that you've left your thirst for vengeance behind."

"I have. I'm just worried about what could happen if Itachi regained consciousness," he clarified. He struggled to keep the fear he felt off of his face. After all, Suna had been his home for the past six years and Gaara's family was now his own. He didn't know if he could survive again if he lost them to Itachi.

"Don't worry," Gaara said. "We'll make sure that that doesn't happen." The Konoha shinobi were surprised when the Kazekage clapped Sasuke on the shoulder and embraced him. "Take care of yourself, Sasuke."

Sasuke returned the hug and pulled back. "Take care of _yourself_, Gaara," he replied. "Tell Kina that I'll be by soon to visit."

Gaara nodded and went on to hug Naruto and Sakura goodbye. He further surprised the group when he kissed the pink-haired kunoichi on the cheek and whispered something into her ear. Sakura smiled and laughed softly. She nodded her head and kissed Gaara's cheek.

"When Jocelyn returns here, tell her that she can rest for one week. Then, if someone can, please, escort her to Suna," Gaara requested. "After all, she is Kina's cousin and her rightful place is in Suna."

The two Suna nin were almost out the door when Neji asked, "And what about Temeki? She's been missing for more than a month and she clearly has a grudge against her foster sister."

"Yawa Temeki is no more," Gaara answered, his emotionless mask back in place.

"She was with Itachi and Kisame when we raided their hideout," Sasuke added. "Jocelyn took care of her."

Neji and the other Konoha ninja were talented enough to know when someone was lying—or at the very least, hiding something. However, Sasuke and Gaara were talented enough ninja to make any lie seem like the truth. As it was, after a harsh look from Tsunade, the others simply took the explanation given to them and left it at that.

"Well," Naruto said after the Suna nin left. "I'm tired, so I'm just gonna go home."

"Us too," Sakura said, grabbing onto Sasuke's arm. "We'll fill out a formal mission report tomorrow, okay Tsunade-sama?"

"Same here," Kakashi added lazily. He sidled a glance at his two male students and smirked. "Suddenly I'm in the mood for a lobster dinner."

Any reply the Hokage might have made was unheard by the members of Team 7 since the four shinobi disappeared in a burst of cloud smoke and cherry blossoms. She turned to look at Neji and Shikamaru, the only remaining ninjas in the room, and frowned.

"They didn't explain their wounds," she commented on the strange marks on Naruto and Sasuke's bodies.

"I assume they were received during the mission," Neji answered, honestly not caring about how they were wounded.

Shikamaru just yawned and slanted a look at Tsunade. "It's too troublesome to wonder about it now," he said. "I'm heading home, too. Temari will want a mission report."

"What about the mission report you owe _me_?" the Godaime demanded.

The lazy genius looked out the window and replied, "I have to write it out. Temari will demand to know what happened. It will be less troublesome if I write the report at home and have her read over my shoulder. I don't want to go over it twice."

"And I must return to the Hyuuga Compound," Neji said, bowing. "Tenten will have returned from the doctor by now. She'll worry over my absence."

Tsunade threw up her hands in exasperation and accepted the fact that she wouldn't receive any paperwork for this particular mission for a few days.

"Go," she shooed the men out of her office. "But make sure that I get those reports by noon tomorrow."

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Sasuke knew that he and Sakura were both stressed out by the events of the past few days. Together they stumbled through her apartment and crashed onto her bed in a tangle of limbs. The late summer heat pressed down on them and Sasuke impatiently tore off his clothes. When he was down to his boxer shorts, he noticed that Sakura took his cue and was clad only in her bindings and underwear.

Sakura saw the light in Sasuke's onyx eyes and placed her hand on his chest.

"No," she said. "I'm tired; you're tired. And there's _no _way in hell I'm fooling around with a guy with red spots all over his body."

Sasuke accepted this and placed his red spotted arms around her. He nuzzled the side of her neck and sighed. Sakura smiled and gently ran her hands down his arms, healing the worst of the bruises that the lobsters left on his skin. He smiled as he felt the cooling touch of his mate and kissed her shoulder.

"The Summer Festival starts in three days," Sasuke commented.

"And?" Sakura yawned and stretched her arm above her head. A moment later, the room became shadowed as she pulled on the cord that brought her shades down and blocked out the late afternoon sunlight.

"And I was wondering if you would be my date for the Welcoming Dinner," Sasuke clarified as the pink-haired woman snuggled into him.

"Okay."

"Great."

"I need a new dress."

"I need a new _wardrobe_."

"Naruto will help us."

"Sure, he will."

"Hinata, too."

"Go to sleep now."

"I am asleep."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

"So go to sleep."

_"You're _the one who keeps talking."

"Do I have to put a pillow over your head?"

"Why can't you let me have the last word?"

"Why can't you let _me _have the last word?"

"Because."

"That's not an answer."

"Then make me shut up."

"You said no fooling around."

"You're the genius," Sakura snapped, her eyes closed and a smile on her face. "Come up with a solution that doesn't involve us fooling around."

Sasuke was silent for a while and Sakura thought that she finally got the last word in their stupid little conversation, but she was disappointed when the man next to her spoke.

"Two years after I was transformed into Temeki, Shino and I bumped into each other in Bear Country. We made the _very _bad mistake of getting extremely drunk and had a wild one-night stand together," he admitted ruefully.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean, Sakura-chan, is that we _both _lost our virginities to Aburame Shino."

"…"

"Sakura?"

"…"

00000000000000000

"Why does Godaime-sama do this to us?" Kotetsu muttered to his partner as they trudged along the path to the Tower.

"Because we're her secretaries," Izumo said, he almost dropped the stack of papers he held when he heard a loud bark shatter the quiet morning. He looked around the mass he held and saw that Jocelyn followed close behind the white dog.

"What's that?" Kotetsu asked. He lowered his own stack and looked over the top of the papers. He saw the Suna kunoichi running as fast as she could, a look of terror on her face. Akamaru ran past the confused men and slid as he turned a corner. Jocelyn saw them and screamed.

**"RUN YOU FOOLS!"** she yelled as she ran past. **"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"**

They looked back at the direction the woman came from and saw Inuzuka Kiba running for them as well.

**"WHY ARE YOU STANDING THERE LIKE IDIOTS!" **he shrieked. **"RUN AND DON'T TOUCH THE NOSE! YA HEAR ME? THE NOSE—DON'T TOUCH IT!"** And with that cryptic message, the Inuzuka Heir rounded the same corner his dog and Jocelyn did.

Kotetsu turned to Izumo and raised his eyebrows. The other man shrugged and noticed Aburame Shino calmly jogging over the rise. When the jounin reached them, Izumo asked the question they both needed answered.

"What's chasing you?"

Shino pointed behind him calmly and said, "That."

Kotetsu's jaw dropped as a huge insect flew above the trees that lined the path and bore down on them. The buzz from its wings sent some of the papers flying and nearly deafened them.

"WHY AREN'T YOU RUNNING?" Kotetsu asked the bug-user, shouting to be heard over the noise.

"BECAUSE _I'M _NOT THE ONE WHO PISSED IT OFF!" Shino replied.

The insect flew over the trio and headed in the direction that Kiba went in. A few minutes later, the shouts of a man, a woman, and the yips of a large dog echoed throughout the village of Konoha.

**

* * *

A/N:**

I am sssssssoooooo sorry about not updating. Finals suck, life sucks, the government sucks. (BTW if the government puts a lien on your house, then it's a bad thing.)

Plus, the document manager thing wouldn't accept my doc file for the longest time...so, poo...

So many things sucked in my life for most of June that it wasn't even funny. But I'm back now!

I hope this chapter doesn't suck too badly though. I'm out of practice.


	21. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**Author's Note:**

Okay, so I have something planned for Jocelyn but I'm not that solid on it yet and my life's kinda crazy in that I can't write as often as I would prefer…

I'll leave it to a vote. If you guys want to read Jocelyn's story just click the little review button and tell me it you're interested in reading that.

I'm not looking for a plethora of people to reply with "GIMME!! GIMME!!" but I am hoping for a good amount. Even if it's only three people who say yes, I'll write the story if they convince me why I should (or beg).

And to plug my cousin's fanfics…read **Mist and Fire **and **Time Waits for No Man. **You'll see that his pen name is Zannen and that his work is REALLY good. Too bad he's so lazy at updating though…I'm gonna go torture him into doing more work now.

Ja ne!


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